Does Chinese navy video offer glimpse of PLA’s new stealth fighter?

Aviation expert says the mysterious aircraft is either China’s FC-31 jet, with capabilities that rival the American F-35C, or a stealth drone

The plane appears in a military recruitment video aimed at training pilots for carrier-based warplanes

Reading Time:2 minutes

A Chinese navy recruitment video shows a pilot walking towards the blurry figure of an unidentified aircraft. Photo: Weibo

Published: 9:00pm, 1 Mar 2023Updated: 6:23pm, 2 Mar 2023

Corrected [5:45pm, 2 Mar, 2023]

[5:45pm, 2 Mar, 2023]
A previous version of the story referred to the FC-31 by its unofficial name, the J-35. The story has been updated to reflect its official name.

A new video from the Chinese navy has offered a glimpse at what military observers said could be the country’s next-generation stealth fighter with the some features surpassing those of the most advanced US warplanes.

The mysterious aircraft appeared in blurred footage from a promotional video aimed at recruiting pilots for China’s carrier-based fighter jets. The video was released by the Chinese navy on Monday.

Chinese military aviation analyst Fu Qianshao said the aircraft in the footage could either be China’s fifth-generation FC-31 fighter jet or a stealth drone.

At the end of the video, a pilot is shown walking towards two aircraft on a carrier after being assigned “a new mission and challenge” by his superior.

Song Zhongping, a former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) instructor and a Hong Kong-based commentator, said the design of the aircraft revealed it was a new stealth fighter, different from the J-15, which is currently China’s only carrier-based fighter jet.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x