Clip Purportedly Shows Flight Test Of Most Advanced Aircraft

A state broadcaster in China announced the release of what it claimed to show a test flight of China’s newest, most advanced stealth fighter jet. The announcement comes just a few days after President Donald Trump announced the start of an American next-generation fighter aircraft.

It is the first time the Chinese aircraft, referred to as the J-36 in domestic media, has been seen in media reports since its maiden test flight was shown by Chinese Communist Party-run media in December 2024. China Central Television aired the footage on March 23 depicting the triangular ginkgo leaf-shaped jet that has no vertical stabilizers to reduce its radar cross-section.

The jet was seen flying over Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province with no chase plane and analysts said it appeared that the aircraft’s landing gear and aerodynamics were being tested. The Chengdu Aircraft Corporation is said to have built the aircraft.

Some aviation enthusiasts and western analysts reportedly say the large aircraft resembles more of a fifth-generation strike-fighter or regional bomber aircraft, but official details from the Chinese government have been very limited.

The aircraft was first seen flying on December 26, 2024, accompanied by a J-20S, the two-seat variant of China’s fifth-generation stealth fighter, serving as the chase plane.

On Friday March 21, President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that Boeing would be tapped to build the U.S. Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter, the F-47, under the planned Next Generation Air Dominance program.

Western analysts suggest the J-36 is designed as more of a multi-role platform aircraft rather than a typical dogfighting jet.

FMI:  www.defense.gov/