China, which has so far been showcasing only small models of the export variant of its fifth-generation fighter jet J-35A—tentatively called J-35AE—has now come out with a fully operational model of the aircraft.
According to a report by South China Morning Post, a clip on Chinese national television broadcaster CCTV showed a J-35A model being rolled out of the hangar. It had the serial number 001 and bore the logo of the state-owned aerospace and defence conglomerate Aviation Industry Corporation of China.
Hong Kong military commentator Liang Guoliang noted that the fighter jet that was shown on CCTV was a “complete product” which is ready for export. This is the second fifth-generation fighter jet by China after J-20, hailed as Beijing's answer to the US F-35.
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Guoliang was quoted as saying that the first export market of J-35AE will be Pakistan. Islamabad had reportedly signed a deal with China to procure nearly 40 of the J-35 stealth fighters.
Last year, AVIC posted a photo on social media which showed a Pakistani pilot undergoing training in the J-35A cockpit, reiterating that Pakistan is a potential customer of the aircraft.
Military analyst and former PLA instructor Song Zhongping explained why J-35A was ideal for export. “It can be used on land and simultaneously as a carrier-based aircraft for naval aviation. With such flexibility, it can serve as an ideal export aircraft,” SCMP quoted him as saying.
The claim that Pakistan could be the first customer of the fifth-generation J-35AE, comes even as India is only in the development and industrialisation phase of its fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). There are also reports that India is considering procurement of Russian Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation stealth fighter as a stop-gap measure.
According to DRDO, AMCA is expected to be ready by 2035. “If you look at any programme anywhere in the world, it takes 10 to 15 years to develop a new platform. So we have started this journey only in 2024, when the CCS sanctioned the project. So it will take ten years and we have committed to deliver the platform by 2035,” chairman Dr Samir V. Kamat was earlier quoted as saying.