New Chinese Stealth Jet Has Very Familiar Design Elements

China has flatly denied charges that it stole design elements for its new stealth fighter from F-35 plans after a German magazine published leaked documents attributed to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden that would indicate otherwise.

While the Pentagon admits that hackers focused on sensitive data like the F-35 plans, they did not directly blame China for the security breach.

According to a report from Reuters, on Saturday, the German magazine Der Spiegel published a group of documents attributed to Snowden that includes a top-secret presentation which suggests China stole "many terabytes" of data relating to F-35 radar designs and engine plans. Hong Lei, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, told reporters that the "so-called evidence that has been used to launch groundless accusations against China is completely unjustified."

China publicly presented its J-31 fighter at an air show last year with the claim that it could "take down" an F-35. It looks very similar to the Joint Strike Fighter.

(Chinese J-31 pictured in image captured from YouTube)

FMI: www.state.gov