Photos of China’s latest stealth fighter
landing in the southern city of Zhuhai have revived speculation that the
jet will be publicly unveiled for the first time at an air show there
next month.
The unconfirmed photos, first published on a military enthusiasts’ forum, show a fighter jet landing in Zhuhai, Guangdong province earlier this week with the same markings as previous leaked photos of the Shenyang J-31 aircraft.
The Shenyang Aircraft Corporation is listed as an exhibitor at the 10th annual China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, which begins on November 11 in Zhuhai, but a spokesman for the air show would neither confirm nor deny that the J-31 will be unveiled at the event.
The stealth fighter, which has been in development for a number of years and made its maiden flight in October 2012, is a twin-engine jet that military analysts said could potentially fly missions from an aircraft carrier.
In August, the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily reported that China’s aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, will house 36 aircraft, including 24 Shenyang J-15 fighters.
“The overall line-up certainly looks plausible, as the mix of helicopters and fighters is similar to how the Russians outfit their example of this carrier,” Roger Cliff, a senior fellow with the Asia Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told Defence News.
“The striking thing about this carrier and aircraft line-up is that every single item is based on a foreign system. The Liaoning is a Russian-built ship fitted out with Chinese systems. The helicopters are based on Eurocopter designs. And the J-15 fighters are based on the Russian Su-33 design.”
Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the Canada-based Kanwa Asian Defence Monthly, told the South China Morning Post in 2012 that as well as borrowing features from Russian aircraft, the J-31 provided further evidence that Shenyang jets were proving increasingly adept at cloning US planes.
The unconfirmed photos, first published on a military enthusiasts’ forum, show a fighter jet landing in Zhuhai, Guangdong province earlier this week with the same markings as previous leaked photos of the Shenyang J-31 aircraft.
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| China's stealth fighter J-31 |
The Shenyang Aircraft Corporation is listed as an exhibitor at the 10th annual China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, which begins on November 11 in Zhuhai, but a spokesman for the air show would neither confirm nor deny that the J-31 will be unveiled at the event.
The stealth fighter, which has been in development for a number of years and made its maiden flight in October 2012, is a twin-engine jet that military analysts said could potentially fly missions from an aircraft carrier.
In August, the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily reported that China’s aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, will house 36 aircraft, including 24 Shenyang J-15 fighters.
“The overall line-up certainly looks plausible, as the mix of helicopters and fighters is similar to how the Russians outfit their example of this carrier,” Roger Cliff, a senior fellow with the Asia Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told Defence News.
 |
| China's stealth fighter J-31 |
“The striking thing about this carrier and aircraft line-up is that every single item is based on a foreign system. The Liaoning is a Russian-built ship fitted out with Chinese systems. The helicopters are based on Eurocopter designs. And the J-15 fighters are based on the Russian Su-33 design.”
Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the Canada-based Kanwa Asian Defence Monthly, told the South China Morning Post in 2012 that as well as borrowing features from Russian aircraft, the J-31 provided further evidence that Shenyang jets were proving increasingly adept at cloning US planes.