Key Points and Summary – New evidence, including an official-looking photo, suggests China’s J-35 naval stealth fighter has entered production and may already be in service.
-The photo shows two J-35s with markings and pilot helmets consistent with frontline naval units.
-The emergence of the J-35, a carrier-based stealth fighter comparable to the U.S. F-35C, represents a massive leap in capability for China’s navy.
-With unconfirmed rumors of carrier trials already underway on the new aircraft carrier Fujian, this development poses a significant new challenge to American naval dominance in the Pacific.
The J-35 Has Arrived
As per the highly respected aviation publication FlightGlobal, the People’s Republic of China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has the second-largest active combat aircraft fleet and the third-largest total aircraft fleet in the world.
The PLAAF doesn’t just have big numbers, but impressive technological capabilities in the world, as it includes 5th Generation stealth fighters, including the Chengdu J-20 Weilong (“Mighty Dragon;” NATO reporting name “Fagin”) and the up-and-coming Shenyang J-35 (no NATO reporting name officially assigned yet).
Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF; Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Hǎijūn Hángkōngbīng) is no slouch either, in terms of numbers or capabilities. According to the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA), the PLANAF has a total of 436 airframes in its active aircraft inventory (as of 2024), ranking it 15th out of 103 total air services tracked by the website.
Among the fighter planes in the PLANAF fleet are the Sukhoi Su-30MKK “Flanker-C” and the Shenyang J-15 “Flanker X-2.” And now, it appears that China’s Navy will also soon be adding stealth capability, in the form of the J-35 mentioned above.
The Latest & Greatest (or Scariest)
The news comes to us from Thomas Newdick in a 19 July 2025 article for TWZ titled “China’s J-35 Naval Stealth Fighter Looks Set For Service.” To wit: “A new photo suggests that China’s Shenyang J-35, its next-generation carrier-based fighter, may now have entered limited series production and could possibly be in service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)…[T]he J-35s wear prominent new shark markings, as well as national insignia, on their tailfins, which might point to them being in service with the PLAN. Another shark motif appears on the tail fins of the J-15 carrier-based fighters that the PLAN also operates…Finally, the pilots wear the bright blue helmets that have frequently been seen used by Chinese naval aviators flying the J-15 with frontline units.”
The photo, which appears to be an official PLAN release, shows two J-35s in close formation. Conspicuously visible in the image are the aircraft construction numbers—0011 and 0012—which strongly suggest that these are low-rate initial production (LRIP) aircraft, as opposed to mere prototypes. Mr. Newdick, however, adds a note of caution that the use of these apparent LRIP numbers could be a mere disinformation gesture on the PLAN’s part.
There are also as yet unconfirmed rumors that the J-35 has already begun carrier trials from the deck of the Type 003 Fujian.
J-35 Initial History and Speculative Specifications
The prototype of the J-35—a navalized variant of the land-based FC-31 “Gyrfalcon”—appears to have made its maiden flight in October 2021, whilst the second known flying J-35 prototype was subsequently spotted in July of 2022 (this time sporting a low-visibility gray tactical paint scheme.
Presumably, the J-35 will have a max takeoff weight of 35 tons and pack a payload of 8 tons (including a carrying capacity of up to 8 missiles in its bays and on its hardpoints under its wings). Operational radius of the J-35 is estimated at 1350 kilometers (838 statute miles, 728 nautical miles), with a maximum speed of 2.2 Mach (1,687 mph, 2,716 km/h, 1,466 knots).
The warbird is manufactured by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), headquartered in the eponymous provincial capital city of Liaoning Province. SAC is in turn a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), headquartered in Beijing.
J-35 and J-35A: Semantic and Cosmetic Similarities and Differences
The J-35A designation is being bestowed upon the land-based version of the fighter, with the carrier-based version being dubbed the J-35. The naval variant uses twin wheels and smaller tailfins, whilst the land-based version logically omits the catapult launch bar and employs a single nose wheel.
Contrary to initial speculation that both versions of the J-35 would use the same powerplant, i.e., the Guizhou WS-19 “Huangshan” (“Yellow Mountains”) engine, it now appears that the J-35A will use the WS-19 whilst the J-35 will instead use the WS-21 engine, which in turn is a heavily improved version of the earlier WS-13. Its characteristic darker exhaust nozzles distinguish the WS-19, whilst the WS-21 features lighter-colored nozzles.
The two variants also appear to be using a different setup for their Luneburg lens (radar reflector). The PLAN version seems to have its lens bolted on ventrally, whereas the PLAAF’s lens appears to be extensible and unbolted. The Luneburg lens is useful on stealth fighters when low observability is not required. Still, it can pose potential safety hazards for flying in controlled civilian airspace, or when masking the aircraft’s actual signature from foreign intelligence.
Meanwhile, although the prototypes indicated that the two versions would have different rudder sizes and configurations, the latest imagery now shows that they will use the same small rudder.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ). He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU).
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