China's new-generation stealth fighter jet, the J-35A, is making its inaugural overseas appearance at the ongoing Paris Air Show, showcasing the country's achievements in developing multi-role, high-effectiveness combat aircraft.
Developed by the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and manufactured by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), also under AVIC, the J-35A is one of the J-35 series fighter jets developed with an "air-sea twin configuration" approach and a "one aircraft, multiple variants" concept.
The advanced aircraft adopts a conventional twin-engine, single-seat configuration with a blended body, two canted swept-back vertical stabilizers and all-moving tail-planes, featuring an integrated design that blends aerodynamics, structure and stealth technology.
The J-35A represents an important addition to China's stealth and anti-stealth combat system, mainly focusing on air-to-air strike while also being capable of air-to-ground combat.
"The J-35 series are multi-purpose fighter jets. Its [the J-35A's] top priority is air-to-air, but actually, it's for multiple purposes, which means it can not only engage in air combat but also attack ground and maritime targets, capable of carrying out various missions," said Song Xinzhi, a military expert.
Regarding the dominant advantage of the J-35A, Wang Yongqing, chief expert of the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute, said that the warplane can detect and attack the enemy in an preemptive way, thus taking the initiative.
Outdoing the previous generation of aircraft, the J-35A can remain outside the effective perception range of the enemy, achieving one-way transparency of the battlefield scenario, which gives it overwhelming superiority in subverting the traditional air combat pattern.
When engaging in battles with aircraft of the same generation, the J-35A can rely on the strong standalone lethality and survivability as well as the exceptional coordinated combat capabilities to obtain accurate situation information and quickly form a stable attack structure, so as to grab the favorable opportunities.
The successful development of the J-35A has enabled China to become the second country in the world to possess two types of stealth fighter jets.
China's new-generation stealth fighter J-35A makes overseas debut at Paris Air Show
