The supersonic stealth bomber demonstrator China revealed to the world on December 26 had company. On the same day Chinese authorities allowed photos and videos of the Chengdu J-36 medium bomber to circulate online, they also permitted the release of imagery showing a much smaller radar-evading warplane demonstrator, the Shenyang J-XX.
It’s apparent the J-36 is meant to prove technologies for what could become a powerful regional bomber, a new type of warplane without foreign equivalents: an “airborne cruiser,” as veteran aviation journalist Bill Sweetman has dubbed it.
By contrast, the J-XX may be a proof-of-concept for a new carrier-borne stealth fighter that could operate from the Chinese navy’s new Fujian flattop and any future sister vessels. The J-XX-based fighter may be an analogue to the F/A-XX stealth fighter the US Navy is developing for its own carriers.
The J-XX is a twin-engine, tailless manned aircraft with some obvious nods toward carrier compatibility. “The tell-tale features may be the large pitch control surfaces and the location of the break line on the trailing edge,” Sweetman wrote. “The first provides the pitch control authority needed for carrier landings and the second accommodates a wing fold.”
The supersonic stealth bomber demonstrator China revealed to the world on December 26 had company. On the same day Chinese authorities allowed photos and videos of the Chengdu J-36 medium bomber to circulate online, they also permitted the release of imagery showing a much smaller radar-evading warplane demonstrator, the Shenyang J-XX.
It’s apparent the J-36 is meant to prove technologies for what could become a powerful regional bomber, a new type of warplane without foreign equivalents: an “airborne cruiser,” as veteran aviation journalist Bill Sweetman has dubbed it.
By contrast, the J-XX may be a proof-of-concept for a new carrier-borne stealth fighter that could operate from the Chinese navy’s new Fujian flattop and any future sister vessels. The J-XX-based fighter may be an analogue to the F/A-XX stealth fighter the US Navy is developing for its own carriers.
The J-XX is a twin-engine, tailless manned aircraft with some obvious nods toward carrier compatibility. “The tell-tale features may be the large pitch control surfaces and the location of the break line on the trailing edge,” Sweetman wrote. “The first provides the pitch control authority needed for carrier landings and the second accommodates a wing fold.”