BEIJING – China’s latest stealth fighter jet, the J-35, made its public debut at the Zhuhai Airshow this week, wowing crowds with a series of steep dives and climbs during its aerial displays.
As China’s answer to the American F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the J-35 is considered a fifth-generation jet, or the most advanced series in operation today, with its stealth capabilities, manoeuvrability and sleek design.
Its reveal was seen by local and international media as the highlight of China’s largest air show, putting China on course, after the US, as the only other country to operate two types of stealth fighters.
This is China’s second foray into fifth-generation fighter jets, following the J-20, which entered service in 2017. The J-20 is considerably larger than the J-35 and is not for sale, owing to sensitive technology on board.
Other than showcasing its growing military might and technological prowess, however, China could have economic objectives for the reveal.
In recent years, China has reaped the fruits of investments into technology as it sought to export a range of platforms, from the Beidou satellite navigation system to nuclear reactors.
Advanced fighter jets could well be the next market China eyes. Close partner Pakistan could be the J-35’s first non-Chinese operator, with its air force chief saying in January that the FC-31 – the J-35’s predecessor – would enter service “in the near future”.
Next-generation fighter jets are a strategic capability whose sales could signal yet another step taken in China’s ascendence as a global power.
Yet with a smaller circle of rich and militarily powerful allies compared with Washington, China may find it difficult to find international buyers for the J-35, even if it does live up to its hype.
Market gap?
Despite the J-35 generating considerable excitement and making headlines in China, very little data has been released about its performance and capabilities, and it remains very much a “black box” to outsiders.
Designed and built by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the J-35 is expected to be capable of being deployed on aircraft carriers, enhancing China’s ability to project forces in the region.
Toe-to-toe, based on available specifications, the J-35 is broadly comparable with the F-35, although the Lockheed Martin jet has since accumulated far more flight hours and combat experience.
Military aerospace expert Douglas Barrie believes it is still too early to draw implications for the Chinese military’s combat power, including in relation to its strategic rival, the US.
The significance will become fully apparent only when, and if, the aircraft enters the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s inventory, said Mr Barrie, noting that its development has so far proceeded at a much slower pace than that of the Chengdu J-20.
Now, the J-35 could fill a gap in the global market for countries from the Middle East and Central Asia looking for upgrades to their fighter fleets, but that have been shut out from US military equipment. Its earlier iteration, the built-for-export FC-31, was estimated to cost US$70 million (S$93.8 million) in 2017, compared with between US$80 million to more than US$100 million for the F-35, depending on the variant.
