HONG KONG, June 9. /TASS/. Photographs of sixth-generation fighter jets manufactured in China indicate that Beijing is overtaking the Western countries in the development of new aircraft, a number of experts told the South China Morning Post newspaper after recent photos of two new fighter jets, the Chengdu J-36 and Shenyang J-50, appeared on social media in China.
"The fact that China is now flying two sixth-generation combat aircraft means that they could potentially enter service before the end of this decade in small numbers - whilst the NGAD and GCAP project is likely to be a mid-2030s project," said Malcolm Davis, a senior defense analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He was referring to the US Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program and the European Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), which brings together the UK, Japan, and Italy.
Peter Layton, a retired Australian air force officer and visiting fellow at Brisbane's Griffith Asia Institute, said the latest image confirmed the J-36's three weapons bays - one large and two smaller - and the dorsal intake for the third engine. "I think it confirms the growing view that the J-36 is a large, long-range strike aircraft," said Layton, who is also an associate fellow at Britain's Royal United Services Institute.
Veteran aerospace writer Bill Sweetman found the fighter's design "quite impressive." In his opinion, the J-36 is "one of the most interesting combat aircraft designs to emerge in decades."
Speaking about the Shenyang J-50 fighter, expert Layton pointed to the J-50's advanced stealth characteristics and modern avionics. All the experts interviewed agree that the J-50 has low radar visibility, which makes it a dangerous opponent in the air.