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Yuanyue Dang

China’s newest stealth fighter is expected to be officially unveiled at a major air show this month, announcing its entry into service.
Yue Gang, a retired colonel, said it was “very likely” that the plane would be officially unveiled at the show in Zhuhai in the southern province of Guangdong.
The state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China posted a series of photos and videos of the prototype, the FC-31 Gyrfalcon, on social media on Thursday, marking the 12th anniversary of the aircraft’s maiden flight.
Most of the other posts with the same hashtag were previews of aircraft to be unveiled at the air show.
The firm is the parent company of the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, which makes the stealth fighter.
The fighter is the Chinese equivalent of Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II. Its entry into service would make China the second country after the United States to have two types of stealth aircraft.


China’s other stealth fighter, the J-20, entered service in 2017.
In 2015 state news agency Xinhua reported that the plane could complement the J-20 in aerial combat and a carrier-based version might also be produced.
The new fighter has yet to be given an official service designation and previous media reports and military commentators have referred to it as both the J-31 and the J-35.
Unverified lists circulating on social media of the aircraft that would be on display at the air show said one of the planes appearing would be the J-35A – a model that has not yet been officially confirmed as part of the PLA Air Force’s fleet.
Yue said that the introduction of the new stealth fighter, especially one that could be used as a carrier-based aircraft, would “narrow the gap between [China] and the United States”.
Therefore, “time waits for no one” when it comes to the plane’s entry into service, Yue said.
State media and the manufacturer have dropped a series of hints in recent months that the plane would soon be entering service.
Online images circulating in February showed an apparent full-scale model of the fighter on the deck of China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.
In July state broadcaster CCTV broadcast promotional footage from the manufacturer that triggered speculation among some military commentators that the plane was ready to enter service.
Beijing is also reportedly pushing to export the jet.


China displayed a model of the prototype at the World Defence Show in Saudi Arabia in February. A Chinese official at the show said the plane was not yet in service with the PLA Air Force but would be soon.
Pakistan’s air force chief said in January that his country was on track to acquire the fighter.
The China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition – also known as Airshow China or the Zhuhai air show – will be held in the southern coastal city from November 12 to 17.
It will be the biggest event to date, with an expanded exhibition hall and almost twice as many overseas exhibitors compared with the last air show, which was held during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022.
The event is co-hosted by the Guangdong provincial government and the PLA Air Force, and organised by the Zhuhai local government.


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A FC-31 prototype pictured during a test flight. Photo: Handout


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