Shenyang J-35

Overview

The Shenyang J-35 (Chinese: 歼-35; pinyin: jiān-sānwǔ) is a series of Chinese single-seater, twin-engine, all-weather, stealth multirole combat aircraft manufactured by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), designed for air superiority and surface strike missions. The aircraft has two variants, a land-based variant designed for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), and a carrier-based variant optimized for catapult-assisted takeoff (CATOBAR) for the People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF). The aircraft is also promoted for export. It is the first fifth-generation fighter in the world that launched from an aircraft carrier using an electromagnetic catapult (EMALS). The aircraft was developed from the FC-31 Gyrfalcon (Chinese: 鹘鹰; pinyin: Gǔ yīng), a stealth aircraft prototype that served as a demonstrator aiming to secure potential export customers after SAC lost the J-XX bid to the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group's J-20. SAC, however, kept the project going via private funding, and later the People's Liberation Army, particularly the PLA Navy Air Force, took an interest in the FC-31 project, leading to the prototype being further developed with a catapult launch bar and folding wings, and the revised variant took flight on 29 October 2021. A land-based variant emerged in 2023 and was officially debuted ahead of the 2024 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, receiving the designation J-35A. On 3 September 2025, Chinese state media China Daily announced the J-35 and the J-35A to be part of the aircraft fleet of the PLA Navy and the PLAAF. The introduction of the J-35 makes it the second Chinese fifth-generation fighter (after the Chengdu J-20) and China the only country other than the United States to use two types of stealth fighters.