In November 2024 China unveiled the J-35 – its second 5th generation stealth fighter jet.
A twin-engine, single-seater supersonic jet developed for multirole missions, the J-35 boasts advanced avionics, including an active electronically scanned array for long-range detection, an electro-optical targeting system, and infrared search-and-track to hunt down enemy aircraft.
The Global Times, the Chinese government’s mouthpiece, described the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation jet as functioning “within stealth and counter-stealth combat frameworks” and focused on gaining and maintaining air superiority, while eliminating ground air defence forces”.
The J-35 is seen as comparable to the United States’ F-35, the world’s most expensive fighter jet.
And Pakistan, which also has 20 Chinese J-10C and JF-17 fighters, will reportedly buy 40 J-35s, with the first units expected later this year, pushing it into an elite club operating stealth fighter jets.
READ | 40 China J-35 Stealth Fighters For Pak, India’s 5th Gen Decade Away
Technically, though, the planes Pak are expected to get are the toned-down FC-31 version – not the top-of-the-line J-35 models China uses. But it will still be a 5th generation stealth fighter.
As an aside, the timing of this development – weeks after the Pak Air Force came off second-best in the 100-hour military conflict with India – has raised eyebrows.
Why should India worry?
In a nutshell because Pak’s likely purchase of 5th generation stealth fighters might shift the balance of military power with India, at least till Delhi can catch up.
China’s new stealth fighter is widely considered a ‘black box’ because of the lack of information about its capabilities, but its performance is widely considered similar to the US’ F-35.
In fact, some even believe it has superior speed and agility to that plane.
First-look images of the J-35, as the FC-31, surfaced in August 2024. There were two variants – one for the Navy and another designed for conventional ground-based operations and export.
The Shenyang J-35A on show in Beijing (File).
Pak will get the second variant, one that reportedly has an infrared search-and-track system in its nose and is still seen as comparable with the American F-35 and Russian Su-57.
The jet, China Daily said in May, can also ‘share targets’ position with other weapon systems, like surface-to-air missiles, and use its radar to guide other weapons to bring the targets down’.
The big feature here, of course, is the stealth capability.
The J-35 reportedly has a radar cross-section of 0.001 sq m, which is comparable to the F-35, and which will make Pak’s new fighter jet very difficult to detect in combat scenarios with India.
This means India will take longer to detect the jets as it approaches the border.
Of course, how effective the FC-31 (J-35) will be in a combat situation is still an unknown.
A prototype of India’s new 5th-gen stealth fighter, the AMCA (File).
There is another point of concern. With China and Pak both operating stealth fighters, India’s air defences could come under severe pressure in the event of multi-front hostilities.
This means Delhi must address the growing tech gap, starting with upgrading existing air defence systems and bring in 5th generation fighter jets of its own, homemade or otherwise.
J-35 buy shows chink in India’s Armour?
India does not have a 5th generation stealth fighter.
This is under development – an ‘execution model’, or prototype, under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme was greenlit last month by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
NDTV Explains | Everything About India’s New 5th-Generation Stealth Fighter
But the AMCA jet will not patrol India’s skies before 2035 at least.
Between then and now India, aviation combat experts told NDTV, should be worried.
The Indian Air Force has long had an edge over Pak when it comes to air superiority, an advantage emphasised by Delhi’s recent acquisition of the French-made Rafales.
By 2031 India will have 60+ Rafale fighter jets patroling skies above its land and seas (File).
The J-35 deliveries (well, technically the FC-31) threaten to narrow that advantage.
“It is worrying news,” Group Captain Ajay Ahlawat (retd.), a former fighter pilot, told NDTV, “… any version of the J-35 in Pakistani colours is going to raise concerns for our side.”
India did consider the purchase option; the F-35 and the Russian-made Su-57 were on the table.
However, these are “bad choices”, Group Captain Ahlawat told NDTV. “The only good choice is the AMCA,” he said and called for a “national mission-mode push” to get it in service ASAP.
