A Chinese navy recruitment video shows a pilot walking towards the blurry figure of an unidentified aircraft. Photo: Weibo
A new video from the Chinese navy has offered a glimpse at what military observers said could be the country’s next-generation stealth fighter with the some features surpassing those of the most advanced US warplanes.
Chinese military aviation analyst Fu Qianshao said the aircraft in the footage could either be China’s fifth-generation J-35 stealth fighter jet or astealth drone.
At the end of the video, a pilot is shown walking towards two aircraft on a carrier after being assigned “a new mission and challenge” by his superior.
Song Zhongping, a former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) instructor and a Hong Kong-based commentator, said the design of the aircraft revealed it was a new stealth fighter, different from the J-15, which is currentlyChina’s only carrier-based fighter jet.
The J-35, also known as the FC-31, is a fifth-generation fighter aircraft developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC). It is seen as a competitor to the AmericanF-35C stealth fighter.
The J-35 has yet to be formally unveiled, but photos showing what appear to be prototypes of the plane have circulated on social media in recent years.
Sun Cong, chief designer of the J-35, hinted as early as 2021 that “good news” about the next-generation fighter was imminent, but so far no official announcements about it have been made.
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According to Song, the J-35 will be able to take off from the Fujian, China’sthird aircraft carrier, which has electromagnetic catapults for launching aircraft.
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Fu said the J-35 would carry out tests on the Fujian after the carrier completed sea tests.
He also said the J-35 could surpass the F-35C fighter in terms of its stealth capabilities.
“For the next generation of carrier-based aircraft, the primary indicator is stealth. Its technical level is comparable to that of the US F-35C in terms of carrying capacity, combat radius, advanced airborne equipment and excellent situational awareness capabilities,” Fu said.
“And it may be better in terms of its performance, including its combat radius, flight speed and stealth performance.”
“After it lands on the carrier, it will be a carrier-based fighter with the world’s best stealth capability,” he said.
Fu added that the unidentified vehicle could also be a drone – another area of technology where the US and China are locked in fierce competition.