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Economic Times
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
China shoots down US naval stealth cloak, deploys fifth generation Shenyang J-35 on aircraft carriers, F-35C has competition
For long the United States of America was the only naval power to operate a stealth fighter with the F-35C Lightning II deployed on its aircraft carriers. Now, the US will have to contend with China's growing and rapidly modernizing navy which has got its first operational stealth fighters in the form of Shenyang People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has received its first two J-35 carrier-based stealth fighter, directly challenging the US naval stealth jet superiority. While the US Navy has over 110 F-35Cs on its aircraft carriers, China is still in the nascent phase of deploying its naval stealth fighters. But given the speed and scale at which the Chinese defence shipyards have churned out aircraft carriers in the last few years, it won't be a surprise if it catches up with the US before Read: Delta pilot's daring move: how a split-second decision saved flight from mid-air B-52 disasterCompared to 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the US Navy, the most by any country, China has only two - the Liaoning and Shandong - in active service. China's third carrier Fujian is undergoing sea trials. It is also building a fourth aircraft carrier, codenamed "Type 004". The first three Chinses aircraft carriers are conventionally powered but Type 004 will have nuclear propulsion. — RupprechtDeino (@RupprechtDeino) A series of photos posted on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo show two J-35s flying with their tail number clearly visible. One of the J-35 has the number 0011 and the second one is 0012. But the aircraft carrier on which the stealth fighters have been deployed is still not clear although a closeup analysis of the photos show the pilots wearing bright blue helmets, a standard issue for Chinese naval pilots. The jets were photographed flying together and with the J-15B, a fourth+ generation jet in service with the Chinese Navy. Shark markings, the same as those on the other naval fighter J-15B, on J-35s indicate they are already in service with with the Chinese has bulit a massive 270,000-square-meter facility in the Shenbei New District where Shenyang Aircraft Corporation will produce the J-35 stealth fighters. According to indedpendent western analysts, the new facility is capable of churning out 100 aircraft annually, showcasing the Chinese desire and ability to quickly reach a level where it can pose a strong challenge to the US Read: Corey Adams to Alex Foster: Rising US college stars killed in senseless shootingsA few months back, there was a chatter on Chinese social media that the J-35 were undergoing trials on another first, China's Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers in June 2025 operated together in the Pacific Ocean, another signal to the US that its naval supremacy was no longer a certainty. The two ships conducted combat maneuvres and sent their fighters on F-35C is in service with many American aircraft carriers. The naval version of the F-35A and B, the C has bigger but foladable wings for carrier operations. The larger wing area gives the F-35C a bigger range and heavier payload carrying capability. It also helps the F-35C reduce its landing speed rapidly as it descends on the deck of an aircraft carrier. It features additional ailerons along the folding sections of the wings. The fighter's 25 mm GAU-22A cannon has 220 rounds for close quarter combat. F-35Cs deployed on USS Abraham Lincoln made their combat debut during an operation against Iranian-backed Houthi armed group in Yemen in November 2024.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
China shoots down US naval stealth cloak, deploys fifth generation Shenyang J-35 on aircraft carriers, F-35C has competition
— RupprechtDeino (@RupprechtDeino) Shenyang J-35 joins Chinese Navy Live Events American F-35 It features additional ailerons along the folding sections of the wings. The fighter's 25 mm GAU-22A cannon has 220 rounds for close quarter combat. F-35Cs deployed on USS Abraham Lincoln made their combat debut during an operation against Iranian-backed Houthi armed group in Yemen in November 2024. (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel For long the United States of America was the only naval power to operate a stealth fighter with the F-35C Lightning II deployed on its aircraft carriers. Now, the US will have to contend with China's growing and rapidly modernizing navy which has got its first operational stealth fighters in the form of Shenyang J-35 China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has received its first two J-35 carrier-based stealth fighter, directly challenging the US naval stealth jet the US Navy has over 110 F-35 Cs on its aircraft carriers, China is still in the nascent phase of deploying its naval stealth fighters. But given the speed and scale at which the Chinese defence shipyards have churned out aircraft carriers in the last few years, it won't be a surprise if it catches up with the US before to 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the US Navy, the most by any country, China has only two - the Liaoning and Shandong - in active service. China's third carrier Fujian is undergoing sea trials. It is also building a fourth aircraft carrier, codenamed "Type 004". The first three Chinses aircraft carriers are conventionally powered but Type 004 will have nuclear propulsion.A series of photos posted on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo show two J-35s flying with their tail number clearly visible. One of the J-35 has the number 0011 and the second one is 0012. But the aircraft carrier on which the stealth fighters have been deployed is still not clear although a closeup analysis of the photos show the pilots wearing bright blue helmets, a standard issue for Chinese naval jets were photographed flying together and with the J-15B, a fourth+ generation jet in service with the Chinese Navy . Shark markings, the same as those on the other naval fighter J-15B, on J-35s indicate they are already in service with with the Chinese has bulit a massive 270,000-square-meter facility in the Shenbei New District where Shenyang Aircraft Corporation will produce the J-35 stealth fighters. According to indedpendent western analysts, the new facility is capable of churning out 100 aircraft annually, showcasing the Chinese desire and ability to quickly reach a level where it can pose a strong challenge to the US Navy.A few months back, there was a chatter on Chinese social media that the J-35 were undergoing trials on another first, China's Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers in June 2025 operated together in the Pacific Ocean, another signal to the US that its naval supremacy was no longer a certainty. The two ships conducted combat maneuvres and sent their fighters on F-35C is in service with many American aircraft carriers. The naval version of the F-35A and B, the C has bigger but foladable wings for carrier operations. The larger wing area gives the F-35C a bigger range and heavier payload carrying capability. It also helps the F-35C reduce its landing speed rapidly as it descends on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
China's J-35 Naval Stealth Fighter Looks Set For Service
A new photo suggests that China's Shenyang J-35, its next-generation carrier-based fighter, may now have entered limited series production and could possibly be in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The photo joins a succession of imagery showing some of China's latest military aircraft in great detail, including previous views of the same type of jet, although still in prototype form, as you can see in our previous coverage here. Wow … as it seems, also the PLAN Naval Aviation has finally revealed its first two operational (?) J-35 fighters.(Image via @沙丘里的回声 from Weibo) — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) July 18, 2025 The new photo, which seems to have originally been posted on the Chinese Weibo microblogging website, is an air-to-air study of two J-35s in close formation. It appears to be an official PLAN release, and the fact that it includes aircraft construction numbers — 0011 and 0012 — strongly suggests that these are low-rate initial production (LRIP) aircraft. At the same time, we cannot totally rule out a disinformation effort, with LRIP-conforming numbers applied to existing prototype aircraft, for example. At the same time, the J-35s wear prominent new shark markings, as well as national insignia, on their tailfins, which might point to them being in service with the PLAN. Another shark motif appears on the tail fins of the J-15 carrier-based fighters that the PLAN also operates. Finally, the pilots wear the bright blue helmets that have frequently been seen used by Chinese naval aviators flying the J-15 with frontline units, as seen in the photo below, aboard the carrier Liaoning during a 2021 drill in the South China Sea. While we have previously gotten good air-to-air views of the J-35, the aircraft seen so far were prototypes, albeit getting increasingly closer to the likely production standard. These aircraft, in contrast, look like they are from the LRIP batch and, as such, represent the initial version of the Shenyang design that will see PLAN service, including carrier operations. A navalized variant of the land-based FC-31, the first flying J-35 prototype appears to have made its initial flight in October 2021. The second known flying J-35 prototype was subsequently spotted in July of 2022, now sporting a low-visibility gray tactical paint scheme. There was speculation that a third was pictured in flight in September 2023, although, as we noted at the time, the quality of the imagery made it difficult to ascertain whether the aircraft was indeed a navalized J-35 or a land-based FC-31 variant. Now it appears that significantly more examples of the J-35 have been completed, perhaps including the first limited-production aircraft. TWZ spoke to Andreas Rupprecht, a Chinese aviation expert and contributor to this website, for his assessment of the new J-35 photo. He said the fact that the LRIP version of the aircraft had broken cover at this point would not necessarily be a huge surprise, especially since the production version of the J-15B fighter (an enhanced carrier-based Flanker) had also appeared out of the blue, late last year. Very quickly, almost two-dozen J-15Bs were identified as being in service. Until this point, there had been no confirmation of J-15B series production, and the same may turn out to be true of the J-15. – J-15B has light grey radome, are the CATOBAR compatible, 4.5th gen (new weapons, avionics AESA etc) variant, marked red– J-15/A has dark grey radome, STOBAR production/old version, 4th gen, marked greenIn flight I see 9 J-15B, 2 J-15A, but happy for other opinions. — Rick Joe (@RickJoe_PLA) October 31, 2024 The appearance of the apparent LRIP J-35s also comes amid a flurry of other new developments in Chinese military aviation, including indications of the J-20S two-seat stealth fighter being in People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) service, as well as the J-35A (the land-based version of the naval J-35). At this stage, there is still some confusion about the type of engine used by the J-35s in the new photo. What is clear, however, is that the naval J-35 and land-based J-35A appear to have different powerplants, at least at this stage. Ultimately, the advanced WS-19 was expected to power both versions, but this doesn't seem to be the case — yet. There are unconfirmed reports that the J-35A for the PLAAF already uses the definitive WS-19, identified by its characteristic darker exhaust nozzles. Meanwhile, the PLAN's J-35A, which features lighter-colored nozzles, may be powered by the WS-21, which is a heavily improved version of the earlier WS-13, as found on the first prototypes. At this stage, we don't know for sure, but there are likely to be further powerplant changes as Shenyang continues to enhance its J-35s for land-based and naval use. A first brief analysis … J-35 vs J-35A in details!Most obvious at first sight:– the engines or at least exhaust nozzles are totally different– both now use the same smaller rudder (unlike seen on naval prototypes)– both have different luneburg lenses — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) July 18, 2025 Both J-35s in the photo are fitted with a ventral bolt-on Luneburg lens (radar reflector). This is often used on stealth fighters when low observability is not required, when it can pose a challenge for flying in controlled civilian airspace, or when masking the aircraft's true signature from foreign intelligence. The naval version seems to be different from the reflectors on the land-based J-35A, which appear to be extendible and not bolted on. Somewhat surprisingly, there are also rumors that the J-35 has already begun carrier trials from the deck of the Type 003 Fujian, a vessel that is now undergoing pre-service trials. At this point, there is no imagery to confirm this, but with the aircraft apparently now in service, such tests are likely to commence in the not-too-distant future, if they haven't already. On the other hand, it would seem surprising if the unproven J-35 was the first fighter to be tested aboard the new carrier, rather than the long-established J-15. China has also been using land-based test sites for years to help prepare personnel for catapult-equipped carrier operations. Perhaps we will learn more about the status of the J-35 in PLAN service in September, when the aircraft is rumored to be making its public debut in a large-scale event to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II. Whatever the case, there are growing signs that we will see the J-35 operating from a PLAN carrier before too long, although there is still a long way to go before the service can declare any kind of operational capability for the type. As it stands, the J-35, together with the KJ-600 carrier-based airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, a type we have profiled in depth in the past, and likely also stealthy combat drones, looks set to provide notable new capabilities for China's fast-developing carrier aviation branch. Contact the author: thomas@ Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Yahoo
China's J-35 Naval Stealth Fighter Seen Like Never Before
A new photo provides our best view so far of the Shenyang J-35, China's next-generation carrier-based fighter. It's part of a relative flurry of imagery showing some of China's latest military aircraft in unusual detail. In sharp contrast to the blurry or heavily edited shots we have become familiar with out of China in the past, these various high-quality images provide a fascinating snapshot of the breadth of developments taking place right now in China's military aerospace realm. 3501 + 3506. — Stray Helium ◂Ⓘ▸ (@Alfa_Particle) June 19, 2025 The J-35 photo at the top of this story began to circulate recently on social media and, since it's an air-to-air study, almost certainly originates from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) or another official Chinese state source. In it, we see two prototype J-35s in close formation. Of these, serial 3501 is fitted with a pitot boom for flight tests, while serial 3506 appears to be completed to something closer to a production standard, with its radome likely housing a radar. Great side-by-side comparison of the PLAAF J-20 and the PLAN Naval Aviation J-35.(Via @兰墨飞花_星海入梦日出烟燧 from Weibo) — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) June 19, 2025 As we have noted before, the overall external finish of the J-35 is notably smooth, in line with its low-observable requirements. However, both jets sport a ventral bolt-on Luneburg lens (radar reflector). This is customary on stealth fighters when low observability is not required, when it can pose a challenge for flying in dense airspace, or when masking the aircraft's true signature from foreign intelligence. Meanwhile, another pair of photos of serial 3506, which are of somewhat lower quality, are nonetheless very interesting. Seen from the rear aspect, they provide a better look at the engines, thought to be locally produced WS-13E turbofans, which have distinctive 'serrated' nozzles. Based on this same image, there's been speculation that it might show a cannon port, above the left-hand air intake. If that's correct, it would be the first indication that the J-35 has an internal gun, a feature that has been notably troublesome in the F-35, which the Chinese jet is often described in the mainstream press as being a copy of. J-35 stealth carrier fighter (prototype 3506) possibly with serrated WS-13/E turbofan engines. It was seen flying alongside a group of J-15 is most interesting is what appears to be a gun-port for autocannons (2nd image), which is the small protrusion above the air… — Eurasia Naval Insight (@EurasiaNaval) June 18, 2025 Not evident in this view, of course, are the various advanced sensors and weapons that the J-35 is expected to feature, including an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. A navalized variant of the land-based FC-31, the first flying J-35 prototype made its initial flight, at least that we know of, in October 2021, sporting a blue-green primer finish and wearing the serial 3501. The second known flying J-35 prototype, serial 3503, was subsequently spotted in July of 2022 with a low-visibility gray tactical paint scheme. There was speculation that a third was pictured in flight in September 2023, although, as we noted at the time, the quality of the imagery made it difficult to ascertain whether the aircraft was indeed a navalized J-35 or a land-based FC-31 variant. Since then, we've had growing indications that the J-35 might eventually operate from the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) two in-service carriers, the Type 001 Liaoning and the Type 002 Shandong, as well as future carriers fitted with catapults and arrestor gear, including the Type 003 Fujian, which is now undergoing pre-service trials. Late last year, China publicly unveiled the J-35A, a land-based stealth fighter version of the FC-31/J-35 that has been under development for some time and which you can read about in more detail here. There is also growing speculation that Pakistan will become the first export recipient of the J-35 (likely under the FC-31 export designation). In early 2024, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) boss, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Sidhu, stated the service was planning to buy the stealth fighters, as we discussed at the time. Earlier this month, Pakistan's government stated on X that the country had been offered '40 fifth-generation Shenyang J-35 stealth aircraft, Shaanxi KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C), and HQ-19 air defense systems from China,' according to an online translation. As well as the new J-35 photos, a number of new images have recently appeared showing another aircraft set to be a critical component of China's future carrier air wings. This is the KJ-600 carrier-based airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, a type we have also profiled in depth in the past. New photos of the KJ-600 in the air provide us with our best look at this aircraft, too, including its close similarity with the E-2 Hawkeye, which fulfills the same role aboard U.S. Navy carriers. KJ-600 AEW&C — David Wang (@Nickatgreat1220) June 20, 2025 諾斯羅普格魯曼：法官大人，我指控中國人像素級抄襲了我們的E-2預警機西飛工業集團：我認罪 — 飞刀 (@chaoyinsukandao) June 20, 2025 The KJ-600 initially began flight trials in the fall of 2020 and is being developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Company. Once integrated aboard the Fujian (and likely other PLAN carriers that will follow that warship), the radar plane will bring some significant benefits to the wider PLAN, as we described in the past: 'In terms of the role that the KJ-600 will play in the air wing that the PLAN appears to be assembling for its newest Fujian aircraft carrier, it will be tasked with extending the carrier's radar range dramatically, especially when it comes to spotting low-flying objects or even surface contacts, similar to how the E-2 operates. This is on top of working as a battlespace manager. Controllers onboard will vector aircraft as needed and work as central command and control and battlespace awareness elements for highly coordinated missions. The KJ-600's radar picture and other passive sensor systems' data will be linked back to the carrier group and to other tactical aircraft for real-time exploitation. Working as a central data-fusion and rebroadcasting node is also a good possibility.' There's another new Chinese type that we have gotten our best look at so far, also an AEW&C platform, in this case, the land-based KJ-3000. Wow what a start for the weekend: The so far clearest image of the new KJ-3000 AEW.(Image via Mike / @MIKE76665355725) — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) June 20, 2025 The first, low-quality photos of the KJ-3000 began to appear last December, as we reported at the time. Based on the four-jet Y-20 cargo plane, the KJ-3000 is part of a fast-expanding and diversifying fleet of Chinese AEW&C aircraft, which also includes multiple iterations based on the four-turboprop Y-9 series of airlifters. The KJ-3000 falls into the 'heavyweight' category and is expected to supplement — and eventually replace entirely — the KJ-2000 Mainring, which is, to date, China's largest dedicated AEW&C aircraft. You can read about it and China's wider AEW&C developments in this previous in-depth article. Finally, there is also some impressive new imagery of some better-established Chinese military aircraft. The photos embedded in the tweet below provide some very good views of the J-20 stealth fighter, the J-15T carrier-based fighter, the H-6N missile carrier, and the Y-9FQ anti-submarine warfare aircraft. 9.3閲兵訓練J-20、J-15T、H-6N、Y-9FQ etc……(photo by 欧阳潼舢:Canon EOS R5II+RF1200/8) — お砂糖wsnbn (@sugar_wsnbn) June 17, 2025 Whether or not the appearance of these photos is indicative of a new degree of openness in China is doubtful. On the other hand, Beijing clearly has a desire to publicize recent military achievements, at least where this is deemed appropriate or advantageous. Regardless, the imagery certainly underscores the dramatic progress being made in Chinese military aviation. Contact the author: thomas@
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China's J-36 Very Heavy Stealth Tactical Jet Photographed Head-On For First Time
New imagery of China's 'J-36' very heavy tactical 6th generation jet has just emerged out of China. The photos shows a long-awaited perspective of the aircraft — taken from the front — that confirms our analysis that the aircraft features a very large and broad bubble canopy to go atop its equally broad nose section. Under that canopy would be two crew sitting side-by-side, similar to the F-111 and Su-34's arrangement, among others. The image also offers a view of the dorsal inlet on the three-engined aircraft, along with its diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) 'hump,' which appears very large here. Overall, the photos serve as a reminder of just how big this aircraft is. Like many tailless designs, especially stealthy ones, they can look far smaller from the side than from the front, top or bottom. While we have become accustomed to the J-36's modified delta planform, the head-on perspective really underlines the proportions and mass of Chengdu's next-generation tactical jet design. In the imagery, we can also just make out the J-36's lower trapezoidal air inlets, similar to those found on the F-22, as well as one of the jet's unique large aperture electro-optical windows on the side of the nose. That fixture is seen glaring gold in the low-angle light. As is often the case, we must note that the imagery appears authentic, but we cannot be certain of that. Still, it was only a matter of time until we got a head-on angle of the J-36 and this screenshot of a DSLR camera screen (you can see the smart phone's lenses in the reflection) goes along with the progression of 'leaks' out of China we have come accustomed to over many years when it comes to new military aircraft designs. Very interesting but strange frontal view of the CAC J-36, which due to the 'merging' of the top air intake, DSI bump and the wide cockpit makes it look even wider … — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) May 31, 2025 Çin'in Kuyruksuz Savaş Uçağı J-36'nın son test uçuşuna ait görüntüler ortaya çıktı — Times of Defence (@timesofdefencee) May 31, 2025 This new imagery also comes just days after we got the clearest look at Shenyang's smaller, but still heavy-weight 6th generation fighter aircraft, referred to unofficially by a number of designations, including J-XDS and J-50. Not only do we get a more detailed underside view, but we also get a full side-on shot, which shows just how blended the canopy of the aircraft is with its upper fuselage, as well as a better look at the profile of its huge nose. The bottom view gives us a better look at the weapons bay arrangement, as well as its F-22-like nozzle configuration. We can also confirm an EO/IR blister (without its glass) under the nose. The aircraft looks to feature a single pilot/crew. The small side doors where a side weapons bay would likely go remain a bit of a mystery. The aircraft's unique swiveling wingtip control surfaces are also very clear here. Once again, the profile of the nose is striking, and it clearly can accommodate a very large and powerful AESA radar. You can read our very in-depth analysis on these two aircraft, including the knowns and the unknowns surrounding them, which still proves entirely accurate, at this link. Both aircraft were 'unofficially unveiled' via a series of videos and images spilling out of the country of presumably their first test flights back on December 26th, 2024. As we have stated since they first appeared, by summer we will likely have a look at all angles of both aircraft, and in increasing definition, based on how the flow of images of new high-profile military aircraft have historically appeared out of China. So stay tuned for more. Contact the author: Tyler@
