Fresh photographs of China’s two sixth-generation fighter jets, the Chengdu J-36 and Shenyang J-50, have revealed more clues about the warplanes, including their potential cruising capacity and ability to work with combat drones, according to defence experts.
Advertisement
The latest image of the larger J-36 fighter, which started circulating on social media on Saturday, offers the closest look at the mysterious jet so far.
The photo, the first to show the aircraft on the ground, shows the jet parked on a tarmac at what appears to be Chengdu Aircraft Corporation’s main plant in Sichuan province. The background matches the facility from which the J-36 has been seen departing multiple times over the past six months.
A week earlier, a high-definition photo of the J-36 in test flight surfaced online. The image, which appears to have been taken with a DSLR camera, offers the clearest airborne view of the fighter to date.
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.
Advertisement
He added that the third engine was “probably the same as the other two rather than some exotic engine such as ramjet”.
That suggests it is there to provide the additional thrust needed for cruising at supersonic speeds – something two engines alone probably cannot achieve, according to Layton.