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China's J-35 makes debut at V-Day military parade; carrier-borne stealth fighter jet officially enters fifth-generation era: expert

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun, Fan Wei and Liang Rui Published: Sep 03, 2025 01:29 PM

Carrier-borne fighter jet echelons consisting of the J-15DH, J-15DT, J-35 and J-15T were reviewed at China's V-Day military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, with the J-35 making its official debut.

Military affairs experts told the Global Times that the commissioning of the J-35 signifies that China's carrier-borne fighter jet has officially entered the era of fifth generation, and its commissioning is a major upgrade to the carrier air wing's ground and surface strike capabilities.

A technology expert told the Global Times in a previous interview that the J-35 series aircraft is designed with the concept of "air-sea twin configuration" and "one aircraft, multiple variants." Under this concept, the J-35 series fighter is expected to be equipped in large numbers in the future. The J-35 series fighter jets have stronger stealth capabilities, can effectively carry out collaborative and joint operations on the battlefield, and can achieve rapid development and iteration to meet operational needs.

"The commissioning of the J-35 indicates that China's carrier-borne fighter jets have officially entered the era of fifth generation. Becoming stealth is a major direction of carrier-borne fighter jet development in various countries. Carrier-borne aircraft with stealth characteristics have great advantages in air combat with non-stealth fighter jets," military affairs expert Zhang Xuefeng told the Global Times. He noted that the appearance of the J-35 is very clean, indicating that its stealth performance ranks among the best in the world's fifth-generation aircraft, and its commissioning is a major upgrade to the Chinese military's carrier-borne air wing's ability to strike against ground and sea targets.

"Stealth fighter jets are one of the most important platforms in modern aircraft carrier operations, and China's J-35 stands out in many major combat parameters such as stealth capability, combat radius, and missile range," military affairs expert Wang Yufei told the Global Times.

He noted that China's new carrier-based early warning aircraft and others such as carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft displayed at the military parade also have excellent performance, and their combination with the J-35 can greatly enhance the comprehensive combat capability of China's aircraft carriers.

"Especially for the aircraft carrier Fujian, which is equipped with electromagnetic catapults and arresting devices. Its combat capability will rank among the world's top with so many new-generation weapons and equipment," said Wang.