By Kris Osborn, President, Warrior
(Washington DC) Despite incessant media hype and rampant speculation, very little may be fully or clearly “known” about China’s emerging 6th-Gen stealthy fighter-bomber apart from its seemingly unprecedented configuration. To the observer’s eye, the platform does look stealthy and it appears the Chinese may be breaking new ground as a hybrid type of smooth, blended wing-body hybrid fighter-bomber stealth airplane with three engines, and a seemingly large internal weapons bay. Should it be able to penetrate air defenses and successfully operate over enemy airspace using a new generation of stealth technologies and advanced sensors, the J-36 could present new threats. However, a larger, stealthy fuselage with three engines such as the J-35 may prove much less stealthy than smaller sleeker platforms such as the F-35, F-22 or new 6th-Gen F-47. Also the J-36’s three engines is very likely to generate a stronger heat signature more difficult to alter or suppress, meaning that the new PLA AF plane may prove more vulnerable to enemy air defenses.
However, so little is known about the J-36 that it is also possible that the reportedly 6th-Gen aircraft could ultimately wind up as an overly ambitious failure?
2nd Appearance
The second public appearance of China’s mysterious J-36 stealth aircraft is raising new questions about the scope of its technologies, intended mission scope and actual ability to rival advanced US 5th and 6th-generation aircraft.
After first appearing on social media in December, 2024, an occasion which developed no shortage of speculation and ad-hoc analysis, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force J-36 has been captured a second time, this time from several different angles. The aircraft may be breaking some new ground and introducing as of yet unprecedented stealth configurations, as the fuselage resembles elements of both a stealth bomber and stealth fighter jet. It could almost be seen as a kind of deliberate hybrid blending of the horizontal blended wing-body design fundamental to high altitude bombers and a maneuverable, high-speed lower altitude fighter jet. The shape of the aircraft appears to incorporate elements of both, something which raises questions as to whether it represents a technical breakthrough or is instead an ineffective, overly ambitious effort to do too many things with a single aircraft.
Fighter-Bomber combination
Could it be possible to engineer a “tactical stealth bomber” able to both carry large amounts of ordnance and perform fighter-jet-like air combat maneuvers? If so, it would suggest the PLA has made new aerodynamic breakthroughs, yet the appearance of these potential attributes may be an overly-ambitious effort to blend too many unique characteristics into a single aircraft. The diamond-shaped wing, however, does not appear to incorporate any tails, fins or vertical structures, a clear effort to reduce the aircraft’s radar signature. Similar to industry renderings of US Air Force 6th-generation designs, the J-36 indicates that both US and Chinese engineers may have found ways to maneuver and vector without needing tails and vertical structures typically used to manage air-flow and enable high-speed maneuvers. Available views of the fuselage show a large, smooth flat tactical bomber with fighter-jet like inlets beneath the wings. High altitude ultra-stealth bombers typically blend the inlet in the structure of the fuselage above the wing in a smooth-rounded configuration. The absence of hard edges or protruding structures lowers the ability of “electromagnetic pings” to bounce off a structure and deliver an accurate rendering or radar return signal. Such is the case with the US B-2 and B-21, as they are built to appear like a “bird” to enemy radar.
Stealth Configuration
The J-36, however, combines this kind of design with fighter-jet like attributes such as an angled, pointy nose for optimal speed and rectangle-like inlets beneath the wings similar to what is seen on the F-35 and F-22. While this might enhance fighter jet-like capabilities, it can decrease stealth effectiveness to a certain extent by increasing the radar signature. Stealth properties are of course also heavily influenced by heat signature, and its not immediately clear what kind of thermal management methods might be incorporated into the J-36.
Perhaps the most significant element of the J-36 pertains to its apparent “3-engine” structure, something which could reduce stealth but potentially introduce new dimensions of speed, power and aerial agility. The third engine might represent an effort to bring F-22-like aerial maneuverability to a larger, heavier, bomber-like platform. While a 3rd engine might increase speed and offer vectoring possibilities for a larger bomber-esque platform, it likely challenges efforts to reduce heat emissions and could decrease stealth. Three engines would increase speed, however, and that is something which is a survivability enhancing attribute as well.
J-36 Concepts of Operation
All of these variables raise questions about the intended Concepts of Operation for the fighter, because the J-36 could connect fighter-jet-like speed with bomber-like payload carriage. Available images of the J-36 do show a large internal weapons bay, something which raises the possibility of a lower, altitude tactical bomber able to fly with large, B-2-like ordnance payload. This allows an aircraft to operate with longer dwell-time and the ability to drop a larger number of weapons on target in a single mission. The larger body also means the aircraft could possibly fly longer missions by virtue of being able to carry more fuel than a standard fighter.
Does the J-36 strike an optimal blend of attributes capable of introducing unprecedented air-attack possibilities? This certainly seems possible, yet there are still too many unknowns. For example, what kinds of sensing, mission systems or fire-control technologies does the J-36 have? Can it operate with F-35-like long-range high-fidelity sensors such that it can destroy enemy targets at standoff distances where it is not detected? What kinds of computing, fire-control and weapons interfaces does the aircraft incorporate? Does it really achieve a new degree of stealth multi-role versatility?
The PLA itself might not yet have the answers to all of this, as the aircraft may only be in a demonstrator, experimental phase not yet ready for production. There is evidence to support this, according to an interesting essay from the Aviationist which pointed out a forward data probe on the aircraft, something typically done during initial testing and assessment phases of new platforms for the purpose of collecting data for further analysis.
Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
