China’s J-35A Stealth Fighter Officially Breaks Cover

China has publicly unveiled the Shenyang J-35A, a land-based stealth fighter that has been under development for some time but which had previously only been seen in unofficial and frequently poor-quality imagery. While we now have a good look at the aircraft, many questions remain, especially about the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) plans for it, since the base design was previously understood to be under development primarily for export and latterly also for carrier-based service with the PLA Navy.

The first official photo of the J-35A was released today, ahead of its planned debut at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, better known as Airshow China, held at Zhuhai Airport in Guangdong province, in southern China. The show opens on November 12.

The front three-quarter view of the jet, seen taxiing, reveals several new details and sheds more light on features that were previously more hidden. It also provides a very useful comparison with earlier versions of the J-35 and FC-31, as well as with rival fifth-generation fighters.

Much has been made of the similarities between the J-35/FC-31 and the U.S.-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, fueling claims that China copied its American counterpart or at least that it made use of stolen data to directly inform the aircraft’s development. While there is no doubt that China has obtained classified data on a range of sensitive Western military programs, and the F-35 program in particular, it doesn’t mean the jet was ‘copied.’ In fact, China cannot ‘copy’ the F-35, it is one of the world’s most complex machines. It can emulate its overall design and knock-off components and certain technologies that it can reproduce and has the data to do so, but the idea that it is a direct copy is blatantly false and a common trope when it comes to comparing foreign military hardware with U.S. designs.

Critical outright differences exist, including its twin-engines compared to the F-35’s large single turbofan engine. While the F-35 was designed from the start to accommodate a short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) version, this requirement is absent from the Chinese design. There are clearly many elements that were at least heavily inspired if not cribbed from the F-35, including its DSI inlets, canopy, and basic configuration. Even its official designation isn’t trying to hide that reality. But overall, despite key similarities, the Chinese design is sleeker and more slender than the F-35. This is largely in part thanks to not having a STOVL requirement, but it also raises questions about its internal fuel capacity and its range, as well as the available volume for internal stores.

Above all else, just because a fighter looks similar doesn’t mean it performs anywhere near the same. This is particularly true when it comes to what lays on and under the aircraft’s skin — especially in terms of avionics and data fusion, sensor technology, and low observable (stealth) structures and coatings. The available engine technology is also a major factor.

Notable details that we can see in the new photo of the J-35A include an electro-optical targeting system, apparently equivalent to the EOTS found on the F-35, and similarly mounted under the nose, as well as a wide-angle head-up display in the cockpit. There is also what appears to be a radar-reflective Luneburg lens below the fuselage, designed to remove the stealthy jet’s radar-evading qualities when desired.

The PLA has also now confirmed the J-35A designation for the land-based version of the fighter, with the carrier-based version being the J-35, and the initial prototypes having the export-centric FC-31 name. Based on that last designation, a land-based version of the jet for the PLAAF had been tentatively — and apparently unofficially — referred to as the J-31.

Ever since the first two FC-31 prototypes appeared in land-based form, there had been speculation that as well as for export, a version might also be in the works for the PLAAF, likely as a lighter and more cost-effective complement to the Chengdu J-20.

The first of the FC-31 prototypes took to the air in October 2012. Like the J-35A, the FC-31 also made its public debut at Airshow China, appearing at Zhuhai in 2014.

Then followed, in 2016, a thoroughly reworked and greatly refined version of the FC-31, which we discussed in detail at the time.

Work on the land-based FC-31/J-31 was then seemingly scaled back, suggesting a lack of official interest and, before long, the design was significantly reworked for carrier operations, as the J-35.

It was only toward the end of last year that a land-based version of the fighter for domestic use came back into the frame, while progressively clearer photos of one of the prototypes appeared to reveal key features different from those found on the carrier-based J-35. It seems this prototype flew on or around September 26, 2023.

Compared to the naval version, the prototype seen in unofficial imagery toward the end of last year appeared to have a smaller overall wing surface area, a characteristic that is also found on the land-based F-35A, in contrast with the bigger wing of the carrier-based F-35C.

That prototype also appeared to have different landing gear, with a single nose wheel, not the twin wheels found on the naval jet. This feature can now be seen in much better detail in the photo of the J-35A released today. At the same time, the catapult launch bar is also deleted.

While there had been a previous announcement of official Pakistani plans to acquire a land-based version of the jet, today’s publication of a photo of the J-35A also brought confirmation that the PLAAF is interested in getting its own examples, a significant development in itself.

What we don’t yet know is how far advanced the PLAAF’s plans for the J-35A might be, but the aircraft as publicly revealed wears Air Force insignia on the nose, a service-style overall gray color scheme, and is emblazoned with markings on the tailfins that commemorate the service’s 75th anniversary. Compared to the naval J-35, the tailfins are also of a different design on the J-35A, as well as being larger.

Otherwise, it’s not clear whether the J-35A is a new prototype, one that has been seen before, or perhaps an earlier test aircraft that has been reworked according to PLAAF specifications. Of course, it may also be the same aircraft sighted in the latter half of last year.

As for the PLA Navy’s J-35, this is very clearly intended to equip its fast-growing aircraft carrier fleet. While optimized for the latest carrier Fujian with its electromagnetic catapult launch system, there are growing signs that the J-35 will also go to sea in some capacity aboard the earlier carriers Liaoning and Shenyang, which have ‘ski-jump’ takeoff ramps.

Turning to the PLAAF, this has so far focused on introducing the J-20, but, as we have explored in the past, complementing this ‘heavy’ stealth fighter with the smaller J-35A could make a good deal of sense.

The service’s recent modernization has been spearheaded by the J-20 alongside the Flanker-derived Shenyang J-16 multirole fighter, as well as the lighter, homegrown Chengdu J-10. With the J-10 very likely approaching the end of its development potential and with the first of these aircraft already getting long in the tooth, the J-35A could be a very suitable replacement for the medium-weight segment of the PLAAF’s fighter force.

The J-35A is also going to be cheaper than the J-20 to procure and operate, meaning it can be fielded in greater numbers to enhance ‘combat mass’ in a way that would simply not be affordable with the bigger Chengdu stealth fighter.

There is also an industrial incentive to procure the J-35A for the PLAAF, since it will keep Shenyang engaged in building fighters and will also likely help attract export orders. After all, the South Korean KF-21 Boramae and Turkish TF Kaan programs indicate that there is a market for a medium-weight fighter with low-observable characteristics. The Chinese design also has the major advantage of being immune to the tight export restrictions that typically apply to Western designs in the same class, with Beijing likely to grant export licenses to countries that might be prohibited from buying a South Korean or even a Turkish design, especially since both use U.S.-licensed engines.

This export potential has long been the central focus of the meandering FC-31/J-35 program and it could greatly help break China farther out into higher-end fighter marketplace — especially if it is offered at an attractive price. If Pakistan does indeed order the jet it would also offset further development costs and lower production costs. If the PLAAF joins it in large numbers, the price could fall even farther.

For now, there are many more questions about the J-35A and some of these might still be answered at Airshow China once it opens next week. In the meantime, the official unveiling of the J-35A, and confirmation of PLAAF interest, a little over a year since it was first spotted, once again demonstrates the pace of development in China’s military aerospace industries.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com