Rick Joe
The 2024 Zhuhai Airshow presented a deluge of aircraft, drones, munitions, and systems, including displays of hardware in service with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and PLA Air Force (PLAAF) or soon to enter service. The new J-35A – a stealthy fifth-generation fighter – was most widely covered.
The revelation of J-35A being intended for service in the PLAAF coincided with the Air Force’s 75th anniversary, and multiple different prototype airframes were flown over multiple days at Zhuhai. Subsequent coverage in official state media and on social networks followed, essentially “declassifying” the J-35A, as PLA norms go. At present, the J-35A has yet to enter frontline service.
The J-35A is an aircraft simultaneously both recent in entering the rumor cycle and long expected. This piece will review the background of the J-35A, and assess its characteristics and the rationale for its procurement.
From FC-31 to J-35A
In past articles, I’ve covered the aircraft types that preceded the J-35A. First, there was the original FC-31 developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) as a technology demonstrator and potential export product, albeit without any PLA commitment at that time. Two flying prototypes and multiple static prototypes were developed, with the two differing prototypes flying in 2012 and 2016. During this time, the FC-31 was sometimes called the “J-31,” but the name was not official given the lack of PLA commitment.
In the mid-to-late 2010s, concrete rumors emerged that the FC-31 had been chosen by the PLA Navy (PLAN) to be developed into a carrierborne fifth generation fighter, with the possible name “J-35.” In October 2021, the first prototype of the J-35 flew, with pictures confirming traits of a carrierborne fighter such as an enlarged folding wing, reinforced landing gear, and a catapult launch bar, as well as other refinements such as an enlarged dorsal fuselage hump and a more complex sensor fitout.
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