Newly released footage from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) showing two production-standard J-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters conducting their first coordinated flight marks a decisive inflection point in China’s military aviation trajectory. The imagery confirms that the programme has crossed the critical threshold from prototype validation into scalable industrial output, potentially reshaping airpower balances across the Western Pacific.
The brief yet symbolically dense video, released on 6 January 2026, depicts the two J-35s executing near-perfect synchronisation during taxi, take-off, and formation climb. Such coordination reflects a maturation of manufacturing tolerances, flight-control harmonisation, and systems integration—milestones typically observable only once a platform has transitioned from experimental development into structured production flight testing.
The aircraft appear coated in metallic-green primer, a finish associated with pre-delivery production airframes rather than early demonstrators. This visual cue implicitly confirms that the J-35 programme has progressed beyond the uncertainty phase that has historically plagued Chinese combat aircraft initiatives, particularly those intended for complex carrier-borne operations under high-stress maritime conditions.
Strategically, the timing of the footage aligns with Beijing’s messaging that the current decade represents a “window of strategic acceleration,” during which industrial capacity, doctrinal evolution, and operational readiness must converge before external containment measures can solidify. The absence of narration in the video reinforces this message: the imagery itself communicates inevitability, projecting that fifth-generation naval and land-based stealth fighters are emerging as routine instruments of force structure rather than aspirational symbols.
Text overlays in the video referencing “the first year of high-speed mass production” and projected annual outputs exceeding 100 aircraft indicate a production tempo rarely seen outside the United States. Such speed underscores Beijing’s confidence in its domestic aerospace manufacturing ecosystem. Senior Chinese aerospace officials have noted that “the transition from demonstration to deployment represents the most strategically decisive phase of any advanced fighter programme,” framing the J-35 not merely as a technological achievement but as a force-shaping asset. Military analysts have echoed this view, observing that “China has entered an era where production speed itself constitutes a strategic weapon.”
Viewed collectively, the coordinated inaugural flight of two production J-35s is less a ceremonial milestone than a calculated declaration that China’s fifth-generation fighter ecosystem is now structurally resilient, repeatable, and aligned with long-term strategic objectives rather than short-term demonstration goals.
The J-35 traces its origins to the FC-31 “Gyrfalcon” demonstrator first revealed in 2012. The project was a privately funded initiative by SAC after the company lost the domestic fifth-generation fighter competition to Chengdu Aerospace Corporation’s J-20, forcing a parallel development pathway outside the primary state programme. Initially conceived as an export-oriented stealth platform powered by Russian-derived RD-93 engines, the FC-31 nonetheless functioned as a technological incubator, enabling SAC to refine low-observable shaping, internal weapons bay geometry, and digital flight-control logic without the political constraints imposed on flagship national programmes.
The second FC-31 prototype, flown in 2016 with indigenous WS-13E engines and revised airframe contours, represented a decisive shift toward domestic propulsion autonomy. It also indicated that the platform was being repositioned for internal Chinese use rather than purely external markets. By 2021, the programme formally bifurcated into naval and land-based variants, reflecting the People’s Liberation Army’s recognition that carrier aviation would require a purpose-built fifth-generation platform rather than incremental adaptations of legacy aircraft.
The carrier-optimised J-35, featuring folding wings, reinforced landing gear, a launch bar compatible with electromagnetic catapults, and a robust tailhook assembly, conducted its maiden flight on 29 October 2021. It became the first Chinese stealth fighter designed from inception for CATOBAR operations. Its land-based counterpart, the J-35A, followed on 26 September 2023, featuring a simplified nose-wheel configuration and avionics optimised for sustained operations under the People’s Liberation Army Air Force doctrine. Formal induction into service on 3 September 2025 positioned China among a select group of nations operating two distinct fifth-generation fighter types, previously a distinction reserved for the United States with its F-22 and F-35 fleets.
Massive industrial expansion underpins this operational leap. SAC’s Shenyang complex has grown by more than 35 percent, complemented by a 270,000-square-metre advanced manufacturing facility in Shenbei New District. This infrastructure supports projected annual outputs exceeding 100 airframes, embedding fifth-generation production capacity as a permanent feature of China’s defence economy and reducing vulnerability to foreign sanctions.
Technically, the J-35 embodies a stealth-first philosophy prioritising radar cross-section reduction, sensor fusion, and networked lethality over conventional kinematic dominance. Its blended wing-body design, diverterless supersonic inlets, and serpentine engine ducts collectively minimise radar signatures while simplifying maintenance and improving aerodynamic efficiency. Measuring approximately 17.3 metres in length with an 11.5-metre wingspan and a maximum take-off weight near 28,000 kilograms, the aircraft is comparable in size to the F-35 while offering ample internal volume for fuel and weapons.
Propulsion comes from twin WS-19 afterburning turbofan engines, each delivering roughly 13,000 kilograms of thrust. This enables limited supercruise and significantly improves reliability compared with earlier Chinese powerplants. Fully indigenous propulsion is strategically significant, removing a long-standing constraint on sortie generation and sustainment in protracted conflicts.
The avionics suite reportedly integrates a gallium-nitride AESA radar with detection ranges exceeding 200 kilometres, infrared search-and-track systems, distributed aperture sensors, and helmet-mounted displays that fuse sensor data into a cohesive tactical picture. The aircraft can carry up to 2,000 kilograms of ordnance internally, including PL-15 and next-generation long-range air-to-air missiles, while external hardpoints permit expanded payloads when stealth is less critical. These features position the J-35 as a multi-domain sensor-shooter node aligned with emerging concepts of distributed, network-centric warfare.
For the People’s Liberation Army Navy, the J-35 represents a transformational leap from legacy carrier aviation toward a stealth-centric force capable of contested operations beyond the first island chain. As the first non-US stealth fighter designed for electromagnetic catapult launch and arrested recovery, the J-35 fundamentally alters the operational calculus for carrier strike groups centred on the Type 003 Fujian. When integrated with KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft and upgraded J-15T multirole fighters, the J-35 enables a layered air wing capable of both penetrating defended airspace and providing fleet air defence at extended ranges. This reduces reliance on land-based air cover and extends operational reach deep into the Philippine Sea and Western Pacific.
The platform also has immediate regional implications. Across the Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, and South China Sea, the emergence of stealth-equipped carrier aviation challenges long-standing assumptions about air superiority. Japan’s accelerated acquisition of F-35Bs for its Izumo-class carriers underscores the recognition that China’s carrier aviation is entering a qualitatively new phase. India, advancing the AMCA and Tejas Mk2 programmes, faces the prospect of a future air environment where Chinese stealth platforms may proliferate among regional partners, reshaping South Asian airpower dynamics.
Reports of potential J-35 exports to Pakistan—estimated at 36 to 40 aircraft valued around US$7–8 billion—highlight the platform’s strategic leverage in alliance politics. Interest from Middle Eastern and Eastern European states further positions the J-35 as a potential competitor to Western fifth-generation exports. Analysts predict that by 2030, widespread J-35 deployment could “erode the qualitative buffer that has historically underpinned Western air dominance,” reflecting growing concern in defence planning circles.
Challenges remain, including engine durability, maritime corrosion resistance, and integration into complex joint kill-chain architectures. Testing will be critical to validate WS-19 performance across carrier operating cycles and high-tempo sorties. Integration with unmanned systems, hypersonic strike assets, and space-based sensors will ultimately determine the J-35’s effectiveness in high-end conflict scenarios.
Nevertheless, with production infrastructure in place and doctrinal integration accelerating, the J-35 appears set to become a central pillar of China’s airpower strategy by decade’s end. The sight of two production J-35s lifting off in formation is not merely an aviation milestone; it is a strategic signal that China’s ascent in fifth-generation combat aviation has entered an irreversible phase.
