The Chinese J-36 aircraft will likely directly compete with any U.S. aircraft fit to modernize the military.
Days after President Donald Trump announced that aerospace giant Boeing had been awarded a contract to produce the manned sixth-generation fighter to be designated the F-47 and serve as the primary system of systems being developed as part of the United States Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program; China’s J-36 was trending again on social media for the third time.
“Chengdu’s next-generation prototype aircraft (tentatively named J-36) has again been spotted conducting test flights,” a Japanese open-source military analyst wrote on X while sharing a nearly minute-long video of the delta-wing aircraft as it descended and landed at the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation’s (CAC’s) facility in Sichuan province.
This video was released just a week after the Chinese aircraft made its second flight.
As Maya Carlin previously wrote for The National Interest, “The J-36 will serve as a direct competitor to any upcoming series put forth by the U.S. Air Force or Navy.”
Details on the J-36 Still Sparse
Though the recent sightings have provided new details about the fighter, numerous unanswered questions remain about the aircraft’s capabilities.
Yet, aviation experts have speculated that the delta-wing aircraft may have a wingspan of around twenty meters long and a total wing area of 190 square meters. Its powerplant isn’t known, but there is speculation it could be a modified Shenyang WS-10 or Shenyang WS-15, which was developed for China’s fifth-generation Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon multirole fighter.
China has struggled with engine technology for its advanced domestically built aircraft, but its engineers have likely overcome the issues.
The J-36 Is a Serious Contender in the Sixth-Gen Aircraft Race
It is believed that the J-36 took its maiden flight, or at least publicly acknowledged flight, on December 26, which is highly significant to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“The leadup to the J-36’s emergence holds uncanny similarities to the emergence of the J-20, nearly fourteen years ago to the day, showing that history does indeed rhyme,” The Diplomat reported.
“Both were preceded by significant periods of credible rumors and increasingly granular predictions by the Chinese language-watching community.” At the same time, it added, “Some have remarked that the date for the J-36’s maiden flight might seek to commemorate the December 26 birthday of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China.”
Both aircraft were actual “great leaps forward” for China, but perhaps not as significant as previously suggested. Since the “maiden flight” of the J-36, the United States officially announced that the F-47 prototypes from Boeing have conducted test flights, possibly returning to Trump’s first term.
“For the past five years, the X-planes for this aircraft have been quietly laying the foundation for the F-47, flying hundreds of hours, testing cutting-edge concepts, and proving that we can push the envelope of technology with confidence,” explained the Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David Allvin in a statement.
“These experimental aircraft have demonstrated the innovations necessary to mature the F-47’s capabilities, ensuring that when we committed to building this fighter, we knew we were making the right investment for America.”
A finalized version of the F-47, which will eventually replace the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, could be fielded by the decade’s end.
The U.S. Navy is also expected to name the contractor selected to produce its F/A-XX, the sixth-gen aircraft that will replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, later this week.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites, with over 3,200 published pieces and over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author at [email protected].
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
