Author: Yang Jing
China's Shenyang Aircraft Industry Group released a promotional video last week showing a computer-generated image of a stealth fighter numbered J31-B, accompanied by the words "from land-based to sea-based."
The image of the J-31B "Falcon Eagle" stealth fighter disclosed in the promotional video of Shenfei Group. (Internet)
According to the analysis of military experts, the appearance of the J-31B number means that it is not far from the PLA to equip this model; However, some analysts believe that it cannot be ruled out that this is just a demonstration of the Shenfei Group's determination to achieve a new generation of carrier-based aircraft.
Shenfei Group's WeChat public account released a promotional video last Saturday (June 29) to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of the factory. At the end of the documentary, the models of fighters developed by the group are listed in the form of computer-generated diagrams, including J-11, J-15, and the "Falcon Eagle" stealth fighter numbered J-31B and moored on the aircraft carrier.
At the same time, the video caption "from one generation to five generations" and "from land-based to sea-based" implies that Shenfei Group has been able to develop and produce the most advanced fifth-generation fighters at present, and the "Falcon Eagle" has been selected as a new carrier-based fighter for China's aircraft carriers.
The "Eagle Eagle" made its public debut at the 2014 Zhuhai Air Show, with the manufacturer number FC-31, and was the second Chinese stealth fighter to appear after the J-20.
China's advanced stealth fighter J-20. (Internet)
Fu Qianjiao, an expert on the Chinese Air Force, said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao that the manufacturer number of the new equipment is usually different from the official number, from FC-31 to J-31B, indicating that the Chinese military has given the "Eagle Eagle" an official number, "which means that the 'Eagle Eagle' has an official household registration and is eligible to join the army."
Fu Qianjiao pointed out that the military industrial complex did not give the fighters the authority to number the "J" series, and the J-31B is obviously the English abbreviation of the J-31B.
China CCTV News reported in 2014 that the FC-31 was mainly export-oriented, and based on this, carrier-based aircraft models were developed. Since then, the FC-31 has undergone a number of important improvements, including improved aerodynamic shape, updated avionics system, and the replacement of domestic engines.
After China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, was launched in June 2022, the first high-resolution photos of a new stealth carrier-based aircraft were leaked the following month. The photo shows that the aircraft has a gray tactical livery, and the vertical tail is painted with a flying shark pattern similar to that of the J-15 carrier-based aircraft. Since the aircraft has a vertical tail number of 350003, public opinion speculates that China's new carrier-based aircraft is numbered J-35.
After the Fujian ship was launched in June 2022, photos of the new stealth carrier-based aircraft were rumored to be leaked the next month. The picture shows the Fujian ship in the news broadcast in January this year (video screenshot)
During the two sessions (the annual meeting of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) in March this year, Yuan Huazhi, political commissar of the Navy, said in response to relevant questions, "The J-35 has not yet been finalized, but we will not bluff."
Hong Kong's "Wen Wei Po" disclosed some parameters of the J-35 according to AVIC data in March, including the minimum radar reflection cross-sectional area of only 0.01 square meters on the front, equipped with gallium nitride active phased array radar, photoelectric distributed aperture system, passive infrared detection system, etc.; The maximum take-off weight, maximum flight speed, and combat radius all surpass the American F-35 stealth fighter.
Fu Qianjiao believes that although the relationship between the J-31B and the J-35 has not yet been officially explained, both are definitely based on the FC-31 development, and the Navy and Air Force are expected to equip and form China's fifth-generation aircraft combination with the J-20 in the future. In addition, the export type will also have its own number.
In January, Pakistan Air Force Chief of Staff Zaheer Sidhu announced at a ceremony that negotiations were being made to purchase Chinese J-31 fighters, "which will soon become part of the Pakistan Air Force."
In February this year, the J-31 fighter attracted much attention at the 2024 World Defense Exhibition held in Saudi Arabia, and was seen as a weapon to compete with the US F-35 fighter for the Middle East market. According to the analysis of the US media, only Israel is currently equipped with F-35 in the Middle East, and if other Middle Eastern countries want to have fifth-generation aircraft to compete with it, only China is most likely to provide it.
However, in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Taiwan's military expert Qi Leyi analyzed that the competition between military enterprises in Chinese mainland is becoming increasingly fierce, and in recent years, the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group has relied on the J-20 and J-10 to overwhelm the Shenfei Group, and it cannot be ruled out that the Shenfei Group announced the number of the J-31B this time, just to show confidence in the new generation of carrier-based aircraft.
Qi Leyi emphasized that although the J-31B strives to catch up with or even surpass the F-35 in terms of performance, the real power of the latter lies in its nodal role in systematic operations; In the systematic confrontation of future wars, the comparison of traditional performance indicators between aircraft is of no substantive significance.