Integrated sea and air combat capability! Why do the navy and the air force need the J-35?

On the first day of the 2024 Zhuhai Air Show, my country's new stealth fighter J-35A made a surprise appearance, performing agile and smooth flight performances, like a silver lightning streaking through the sky. Why do both the Navy and the Air Force need the J-35? What are its characteristics compared to American fighters?

The J-35 is a fifth-generation stealth fighter independently developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. It is an improved version of the FC-31 stealth fighter, with advanced capabilities such as stealth, supersonic cruise, and beyond-visual-range combat. The J-35's body design is not only suitable for take-off and landing on aircraft carriers, but also has strong air combat capabilities. It has features such as foldable wings and reinforced front wheels that are suitable for take-off and landing on aircraft carriers. The J-35 is also equipped with high-end electronic equipment such as gallium nitride active phased array radar, optoelectronic distributed aperture system, optoelectronic aiming system, etc., which gives it a strong advantage in information acquisition and target locking.

The J-35 has strong maneuverability, and its payload and range have been significantly improved, enabling it to perform a wider range of combat missions. For aircraft carriers, the J-35 can fight far away from enemy air defense areas, further enhancing the combat radius and strike capability of the aircraft carrier battle group. Therefore, the J-35 gives the Chinese Navy's aircraft carriers stronger long-range strike and self-protection capabilities.

Although the J-35 is tailor-made for the navy, its superiority has also made the Air Force interested in it. The J-35's stealth performance and air combat capabilities are also indispensable to the Air Force. Compared with traditional J-10, J-11 and other fighters, the J-35 has stronger stealth capabilities and can effectively evade enemy air defense systems and increase the probability of survival in complex modern air combat environments. The J-35 can not only complement the J-20, but also perform a variety of tasks with other air force fighters, such as air control, anti-missile, and anti-ship. Although the J-20 emphasizes stealth and long-range strikes, the J-35 can meet the needs of different battlefields and enhance the overall combat capability of the Air Force with its stronger maneuverability and multi-purpose capabilities.

The performance of the J-35 is believed to exceed that of the F-35 stealth carrier-based fighter currently in service with the US Navy. The F-35 is a multi-purpose fighter that can perform both air superiority missions and precision strike missions. The J-35 also has similar designs in these aspects, especially in the application of stealth coatings and radar-absorbing materials, which can effectively reduce the detection capabilities of enemy radars, but the J-35 may be more maneuverable. The design of the US F-35 focuses on versatility and high stealth performance, but it is not as good as the F-22 in maneuverability and supersonic cruise capability. In contrast, it has been optimized in maneuverability and has a certain advantage in air combat, especially in close combat. The performance of the J-35 is more worth looking forward to. From the performance point of view, the J-35 is similar to the F-35, and may be different in tactical use. But in general, the comprehensive capabilities of the J-35 should be quite strong, especially in the specific scenario of aircraft carrier operations, the advantages of the J-35 are more obvious.

The J-35 is not only a cutting-edge fighter jet on the Chinese Navy's aircraft carriers, it also plays an important role in the strategic layout of the Air Force. The Navy needs it to improve the combat capability of the aircraft carrier's combat power, while the Air Force needs it to enhance the overall stealth combat capability and maneuverability.

First review: Li Chao

Review: Liu Qiang

Final judge: Li Jiao