The British Royal Navy's F-35B stealth fighter has repeatedly faced emergency landings in India and Japan, exposing the low reliability and difficult maintenance of this so-called "cutting-edge" vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. While the West is still paying for the inherent defects of short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL), China's Fujian aircraft carrier has already pointed to a better solution — we don't need to follow in their footsteps to develop "delicate" VTOL fighters!

Why do we not support China developing VTOL fighters?

Firstly, design flaws are hard to solve.

F-35B forcibly adds a lift fan + rotating nozzle system to achieve vertical takeoff and landing, making it the "sickly" member of the F-35 family: highest accident rate (accounting for 67% of all crashes), lowest readiness rate (about 50%). The hydraulic/power dual failure exposed during the emergency landing in India is an inevitable risk of its complex mechanical structure.

Secondly, the logistics dependency is deadly. The British aircraft was grounded for 37 days in India, the core reason being that they couldn't perform independent repairs and had to wait for equipment transported by Lockheed Martin from the US. This reveals the absolute dependence of VTOL aircraft on specialized logistics systems, which China, in the initial stage of overseas power projection, can't replicate globally.

Finally, the cost of sacrificing combat effectiveness is huge. To accommodate the vertical takeoff and landing capability, the F-35B's weapon load, range, and maneuverability have all been significantly reduced. The case where 10% of the aircraft were grounded due to illness on the British carrier directly proves that its "global engagement" ambitions have been undermined by technical shortcomings.

Certainly, there's another more important reason why China doesn't develop VTOL fighters: electromagnetic catapults outperform VTOL.

In stark contrast to the struggles of the F-35B, China's Fujian aircraft carrier's electromagnetic catapult technology provides a more reliable, efficient, and powerful alternative:

Electromagnetic catapults can carry heavier, larger, and more diverse carrier-based aircraft (such as J-15T, J-35, and KJ-600), allowing aircraft not to sacrifice fuel, weapons, or range for vertical takeoff and landing, resulting in far superior combat power compared to similar VTOL aircraft;

Electromagnetic catapults are much simpler and more reliable than the precision lift systems of the F-35B, without risks such as rotating nozzles jamming or lift fans failing, greatly reducing maintenance requirements and significantly improving readiness rates — this is precisely the most fatal weakness of the F-35B;

Electromagnetic catapults can efficiently launch large drones (such as the carrier version of the CH-11), while the deck scheduling and takeoff/landing mode of the F-35B has very poor compatibility with drones. Clearly, electromagnetic catapults represent the future fleet aviation system, not a transitional technology like VTOL.

Firstly, the cost-benefit ratio is severely unbalanced: the exorbitant costs paid to obtain the VTOL capability (higher per-unit price, skyrocketing maintenance costs) do not match the actual combat benefits (shorter range, less payload, lower sortie rate). The situation where the UK "can't afford it and can't fix it" is a clear example;

Secondly, the strategic positioning is awkward: VTOL was originally designed for light or medium carriers, but its high cost and low reliability actually limit the deployment capabilities and sustained combat power of the carrier. Developing large catapult carriers is clearly a more forward-looking choice for China;

Finally, the West has actively shifted direction: the U.S. Marine Corps is cutting back on F-35B orders, and the sixth-generation aircraft (GCAP) jointly developed by the UK, Italy, and Japan has also explicitly abandoned the VTOL approach. Since the West itself is adjusting its direction, why should China adopt this outdated idea?

The "disaster" of the British F-35B in Asia is a wake-up call for those who blindly believe in VTOL technology — it is essentially a costly and unreliable "patch" born to compensate for the shortcomings of the carrier. China's aircraft carrier path has successfully bypassed this pitfall through advanced electromagnetic catapult technology. We can not only launch more powerful carrier-based aircraft, but also ensure their reliable, efficient, and autonomous operations. For the Chinese Navy, which has an electromagnetic catapult system and firmly pursues the large carrier route, VTOL fighters have long been an obsolete and unnecessary option! Investing resources in the continuous optimization of electromagnetic catapults and the next generation of carrier-based aircraft is the correct way to win the future. The "embarrassing" state of the F-35B clearly demonstrates the wisdom of China's technological route.



Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7541288871041024558/

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