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China’s J-35 jet maker flexes production muscle, pledging to double output in 5 years

New video shows stealth fighter on the runway at SAC in Liaoning as state media says factory will be part of ‘Shenyang Aerospace City’

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A J-35 fighter is shown at SAC’s airfield in Liaoning province, according to a video released by the manufacturer on Tuesday. Photo: Handout
Amber Wangin Beijing
A Chinese defence giant has flexed its production muscle early in the new year by releasing a video of its star product, the J-35 stealth fighter, and pledging to double its warplane production over the next three to five years.
On Tuesday, a green-coated J-35 fighter roared down the runway at the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) airfield in China’s northern Liaoning province, making its first flight of the year, according to a video released by the manufacturer, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), on the same day.

In separate images, SAC displayed two green-primed J-35 fighters parked at the airfield. They appeared to be fresh off the production line, lacking the tactical grey coating found on in-service aircraft.

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The display appeared to showcase the steady production pace of the fifth-generation fighter following its official commissioning by the Chinese military last year.
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According to a Liaoning Daily report on December 26, by the end of June last year, the main assembly plant at SAC’s new factory complex was completed, and product assembly officially had begun.

It is expected that the new factory will enter mass production this year. The report said that over the next three to five years, the factory would evolve into a production base with an “intelligent manufacturing and full chain” support system, doubling its total production capacity.

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The SAC factory appears to be the same as one previously reported. In August 2023, a company notice said SAC planned to invest 8.6 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) to build a new production site covering 4.2 sq km (1.6 square miles).

The report on December 26 said the new SAC factory was part of an entire “Shenyang Aerospace City” planned to cover 79.2 sq km, roughly the area of Hong Kong Island.

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