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China’s J-35 stealth fighter to be suited up for aircraft carrier service

The country’s second fifth-generation fighter will be teamed up with the J-15, aviation sources confirm

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The J-35A stealth fighter jet is headed for duty on China’s aircraft carriers. Photo: Xinhua
Seong Hyeon Choiin Hong KongandAmber Wangin Beijing
Chinese sources have confirmed that the country’s most advanced stealth fighter will be deployed on aircraft carriers, teaming up with another shipborne jet to promote joint operations.
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Sun Cong, a senior aviation engineer with state-run aerospace giant Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), told Chinese news outlet The Paper that “both the J-15 and J-35 aircraft will be deployed on aircraft carriers”.

The J-35 is China’s latest fifth-generation fighter while the J-15 – of which Sun is the chief designer – is a jet already deployed on the Chinese aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong.
Sun made the announcement at the Zhuhai air show, where a model of the J-35 – also known as the J-31 or the FC-31 Gyrfalcon – was on display alongside a J-15 at AVIC’s “maritime missions” booth.
The J-35 was developed by AVIC subsidiary Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and is China’s second fifth-generation fighter jet after the J-20.
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While smaller than the J-20s, the J-35 fighter jets reportedly have more advanced stealth technology and avionics, and are equipped with various types of weapons, such as medium-range air-to-air missiles and supersonic air-to-surface missiles.

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