Fresh sightings of China’s J-35 fighter ambitions on deck of Liaoning aircraft carrier
- Photos have been posted online of what appears to be a full-size model of the jet on the country’s carrier
- The aircraft is still in the development phase and will have to be able to handle ski-jump and electromagnetic catapult systems, analyst says
Then on Monday state-owned, Hong Kong-based newspaper Wen Wei Pao published clearer pictures of the dummy wrapped in a tarpaulin on the carrier at a shipyard on the northeast coast owned by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company.
The J-35 is being developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation as China’s second fifth-generation fighter jet, following the J-20.
The jet is designed for use on aircraft carriers and is still in the development and prototype phase but it is touted as the Chinese equivalent of Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation fighter jet, the F-35.
Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the dummy of the J-35 could serve various purposes.
“One most straightforward assessment is that the Liaoning, which has long been designated as a test bed for PLA carrier capabilities, is conducting experiments on the J-35 as a viable carrier-borne fighter jet,” Koh said.