Actually it is the look at the details and IMO the clearest indication - I am not talking about proof yet - is the gap between the horizontal tail and the wing:
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Shenyang FC-31 / J-31 Fighter Demonstrator
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Actually it is the look at the details and IMO the clearest indication - I am not talking about proof yet - is the gap between the horizontal tail and the wing:
Wow, J-31 development working in parallel with J-35 ? I was thinking that j-31 would have been developped after J-35 harware/software was ready without big change on the airframe. Now with different wing and landing gear, it's way more complex than just stripping some stuff from the J-35.
The land-based variant is always easier to develop than the carrier-based variant, thanks to the fact whereby the requirements for land-based operations are less stringent and demanding than carrier-based operations, by-nature. This is the same for any warplane models that serves from both the land and the sea.
Besides, despite with Shenyang AC starting the development work on the land-based J-35/J-31 being much later (within the past 2-3 years) than the carrier-based J-35 (in the late-2010s), being able to piggyback on top of the J-35's development progress certainly plays a significant role in the accelerated speed of development of the land-based variant when compared to its carrier-based counterpart.
While both variants have visible structural differences (namely the smaller wing, single-wheel front landing gear, lack of arresting hook compartment, etc) - Large portions of the structural design of both variants of the J-35 certainly looks to be similar/same. This hasn't include the hardware and software systems onboard, which should be largely (if not mostly) the same/similar across both variants as well.
Perhaps this is done intentionally by Shenyang AC (and the PLA) in order to allow a much greater degree of time-saving and effort-saving in the development work for the land-based J-35/J-31, which certainly extend all the associated advantages to the production and operation of the J-35/31 family later on. This is in light of an increasing possibility that the PLAAF could procure a large number of the land-based J-35/J-31 in the near future (albeit this has never been verified/confirmed officially as of now).
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lcloo
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J35's larger flaps enable the aircraft to land and take off at lower speed from aircraft carrier. The comparison between FC-31 and J35 is similar to J15 having larger flaps than J11B. Using the gap between the horizontal tail and the flaps of the main wing is a good way to deffentiate them.
Nice CGi render of J-35 carrier-borne stealth aircraft and FC-31
Lower imagery is of a J-35 carrier-borne trainer aircraft
FriedRiceNSpice
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Is it just me, or does the "FC-31" in those CGIs slightly resemble F/A-18?
Yes, but crossed with the South Korean T-50.
It doesn't look like an FC-31 at all, IMO.
It's the rumor dual vertical stabilizer JL-10 carrier version, aka mini hornet.
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