By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
The head of the US Air Force has now said publicly what a lot of people have been saying privately about China’s new stealth fighter for a couple of years.
There are a lot of similarities between the J-35 and the US F-35 fighter jet, said Air Force Chief of Staff David W. Allvin.
In an interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine, Allvin said, “It’s still fairly new. But, yes, it’s pretty clear; you could put it side-by-side and see, at least, where we believe they got their blueprints from, if you will.”
Earlier this month, the J-35A made its public debut at the Zhuhai Air Show in China. Pictures show a lot of similarities with the F-35A, the biggest difference being that the American plane uses one engine while the J-35 has two.
And according to The Aviationist, the F-35 comes out on top when it comes to stealth coating, radar-evading materials and sensor fusion and data processing capabilities. Still, the publication noted, “the real characteristics of the J-35 are still not known.”
Chinese military aviation expert Fu Qianshao has been quoted as saying that the J-35A is the world’s most stealthy fighter jet, saying that it’s “fully capable of rivaling and suppressing its opponents.
Air & Space Forces Magazine said that Allvin wouldn’t go into detail about just what the US knows about the J-35. He did say that in broader terms, the US needs to be aware of the need to deter China’s growing military.
But, according to Allvin, “One thing that they’ll never catch up on us is the quality of our force, the quality of our entire total force, the quality of our (noncommissioned officer corps), the quality of our aviators, the maintainers, all of that. But I don’t want to make it a close fight.”
China has another stealth fighter, the J-20, and is developing a flying wing stealth bomber. According to a Pentagon report, China has more than 3,100 aircraft in its air force and Navy. The US Air Force alone has more than 4,000 manned aircraft.
Observers say the version of the J-35 displayed at the Zhuhai air show will be flown by China’s air force. China’s navy will get its own version of the J-35, one with a different nose gear and larger vertical stabilizers.
It’s believed that the carrier-borne version of the J-35 was tested earlier this year on the PLA Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning.
