China has released footage showing the hangars for its newest stealth fighter jets for the first time, as the East Asian military power seeks to challenge United States airpower.
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
China operates the largest aviation force in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Pentagon. It is also the second country, after the U.S., to have developed two types of stealth fighter jets—the J-20 and J-35 families of aircraft—capable of evading radar detection and rivaling their American counterparts, the F-22 and F-35.
Facing China’s growing military threat, the U.S. has deployed all three variants of its F-35 jet—capable of operating from conventional runways, performing short takeoffs and vertical landings, and launching from aircraft carriers—in Japan, its key ally for projecting power and deterring Chinese aggression under the island chain strategy.
In addition to these fifth-generation jets, both the U.S. and China are racing to field more advanced next-generation, or so-called “sixth-generation,” fighter aircraft—including the American F-47 and the Chinese J-36—to maintain their air superiority.
What To Know
The Chinese military’s media wing on Sunday released footage showing both the J-35 and J-35A jets under construction at the Shenyang Aircraft Company’s hangars. The J-35 is designed for aircraft carrier operations, while the J-35A is its land-based variant.
According to Sun Cong, the J-35 jet’s chief designer, the naval combat jet is equipped with a so-called “dual-mode takeoff system,” allowing it to launch from aircraft carriers with either catapults or a ski-jump flight deck, the state-run Global Times reported.
The Chinese navy operates three aircraft carriers. Two of them—CNS Liaoning and CNS Shandong—use ski-jump flight decks to launch aircraft, while CNS Fujian features electromagnetic catapults capable of launching heavier fixed-wing aircraft.
With regard to the J-35A jet operated by the Chinese air force, it is primarily tasked with maintaining air superiority, including engaging enemy aircraft and cruise missiles, and secondarily with conducting strikes against surface targets, the report noted.
Both stealth aircraft participated in a Chinese military parade last month. The J-35 jet was described as “landmark equipment” in China’s naval transformation, while the J-35A jet was called “a substantial component” of stealth and anti-stealth combat systems.
Meanwhile, footage of the maiden flight of the J-20 was officially revealed on Saturday for the first time by state media, 14 years after it took place. The aircraft first took to the skies on January 11, 2011, and has developed into two variants: the J-20A and the two-seat J-20S.
What People Are Saying
The Pentagon’s Chinese military power report 2024 commented: “The [People’s Liberation Army Air Force] and [People’s Liberation Army Navy] Aviation together constitute the largest aviation forces in the region and the third largest in the world, with over 3,150 total aircraft (not including trainer variants or [Unmanned Aircraft Systems]), of which approximately 2,400 are combat aircraft (including fighters, strategic bombers, tactical bombers, multi-mission tactical, and attack aircraft).”
Wang Yongqing, the J-35A jet’s chief researcher, told China Daily in May: “[J-35A] can lock on the targets, share the targets’ position with other weapon systems, such as surface-to-air missiles, and even use its own radar to guide other weapons to bring the targets down. This is called ‘systems coordination’ or ‘multi-domain coordination.'”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether China will continue developing new variants of the J-20 and J-35 families of stealth fighter jets or focus solely on its next-generation aircraft.
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