J-35A fighter (PLAAF) + FC-31 thread

[jnd85]

Yes, but I think for today I need some rest ... but yes, the serration seems to be larger!



And that's exactly the point ... we need more images! And I need some sleep.

Honestly, the difference in serration could just the an iterative change to existing engines, or someone switched out upstream suppliers for a new subcontract. There are a lot of reasons that could explain a difference like that without it necessarily being an all new engine.

 

[SinoSoldier]

What is odd is that the airframe that has the most "complete" sensors and avionics is allegedly the one with the oldest engines. This leads me to believe that none of these are production airframes and that the final configuration (i.e. WS-19 with DAS with Luneberg) has not been revealed yet.

View attachment 138899

Interestingly, the position of the side DAS windows have changed between #03 and #02. Even though it's tough to see, you can still spot a grey-ish diamond mark on #02 where the DAS would be installed.

 

[eagleone]

I think the following countries may want to buy the J-35. Key word being "may".
1. Egypt. There are talks about buying J-10CE already. A new 5th gen plane will certainly spark some interests.
2. Morocco. Their F-5s and Mirage F-1s will have to be replaced at some point. And China had sold them things like HQ-9s before.
3. Armenia. If Azerbaijan buys the TFX, Armenia may want to counter that. Though I doubt if they have the money to afford too many airframes.
4. Serbia. Given the recent SAM and drone sales, China may be able to sell them some new fighters as well. The main issue is again, money.
5. Thailand. The key issue this time is political will. That again, China is a major supplier for the Royal Thai Navy so I think it is possible for Thailand to show some interest here.
6. Angola. The issue is mainly money, though China can certainly accept payments in oil instead of cash. Another problem is that Angola may not need such a jet yet.

Pakistan will be the first one before any you mentioned mark my words!

 

[Dylan Nguyen]

Interestingly, the position of the side DAS windows have changed between #03 and #02. Even though it's tough to see, you can still spot a grey-ish diamond mark on #02 where the DAS would be installed.

It is the same. See here:

 

[SinoSoldier]

It is the same. See here:
View attachment 138921

Good eye.

 

[bustead]

Pakistan will be the first one before any you mentioned mark my words!

The original post was asking for countries other than Pakistan, but I agree.

 

[F=XX Corsair]

I think the following countries may want to buy the J-35. Key word being "may".
1. Egypt. There are talks about buying J-10CE already. A new 5th gen plane will certainly spark some interests.
2. Morocco. Their F-5s and Mirage F-1s will have to be replaced at some point. And China had sold them things like HQ-9s before.
3. Armenia. If Azerbaijan buys the TFX, Armenia may want to counter that. Though I doubt if they have the money to afford too many airframes.
4. Serbia. Given the recent SAM and drone sales, China may be able to sell them some new fighters as well. The main issue is again, money.
5. Thailand. The key issue this time is political will. That again, China is a major supplier for the Royal Thai Navy so I think it is possible for Thailand to show some interest here.
6. Angola. The issue is mainly money, though China can certainly accept payments in oil instead of cash. Another problem is that Angola may not need such a jet yet.

For near future, aside from Pakistan:

- Egypt: needed to counter Israeli F-35.

- Thailand: they got declined from purchasing F-35 by the US.

- Algeria: with delayed development of the SU-57 they might just buy the J-35A instead.

As for Gulf countries they rather have the F-35 if US permits.

Other than that
Iraq: seems to be buying chinese equipment lately and they need new birds to replace their F-16 and increase their overall fleet.

Jordan: same as Iraq but lacking in terms of budget.

Brazil/Peru.

 

[Alfa_Particle]

Maybe, but is this bend or non-straight transition actually better for stealth?

View attachment 138894

The hinge-type one is based on what was on the original FC-31, but massively improved and apparently conceptionally more advanced. IIRC something with to do with "self-balancing?" Its challenges are apparently requiring more advanced flexible RAM cover. It has the potential to be as stealthy or even stealthier than the conventional pivot tails if done right.

The pivot style is more conventional and is currently on all the naval J-35s seen.

this news was posted in Engine thread as well ..

View attachment 138917
View attachment 138919


@THX 1138 ..

Oh my days my phone font is extremely recognizable lol

Well this is based on what was discussed today (at least in case I got it right) and the idea, that two of the aircraft seem to have the old style horizontal tail configuration, while one of them (#01) seems to differ also in other aspects, so I rate the one we've seen today on Saturday an intermediate one (aka #02), the one we saw on Friday as the newest / most recent one (#03) - some even noted it would represent the production standard and will be sent to the PLAAF for trials after the show - even if it does not have the EODAS installed yet.




These may be just not installed yet ...



By the way, after a second and even third and fourth thought, some comparisons of different images and a lot of cut & paste to find suitable ones I would rather say, the engines are the same and so at least at the moment I think they use all the same engines, namely the WS-21!

View attachment 138899

@Deino, FYI, weirdly enough, the J-35 you marked as #03, its nozzles are strikingly similar to that WS-19 render seen a few years ago:


Both have 12 petals and are clearly double-layered.

And I've heard that the hinge-type stabs weren't testing on prototypes until this year.

What if, hear me out, J-35A #03 is actually the oldest and is the airframe for testing the WS-19 we heard back in Dec 2023?

The prototypes 01# and 02# are from this year and testing the hinge-type stabs on WS-13E and WS-21.

Just a wild guess.

 

[GyrfalconFC31]

J-35 new footage
From PLAAF's 75th anniversary promotional video

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[LuzinskiJ]

J-35 new footage
From PLAAF's 75th anniversary promotional video

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View attachment 138928

On F35s you see distinctly a bunch of panels with serrated edges covering the entire plane body (and the same on J20 as well), yet you don't really see any of serrated edges nor pranels on these J35A's. Obviously those panels are there (especially on the wheel well and the bomb bay doors) and in some photos you can see hints of them, but barely. Of course the F35 have been flying for a while so their panels and the joints between them may just show up due to wear and tear. But J35 just seems ... so smooth...