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Gabriel Dominguez

Fresh images and footage have emerged of what some observers say may be a fifth prototype of China’s J-36 sixth-generation combat aircraft.
If authentic, the images offer new clues about a rapidly evolving design as Beijing races for air superiority in future warfare against rivals such as the United States.
The latest footage, circulating since earlier this month, appears to show further changes to the aircraft’s nose, air intakes, engine nozzles and landing gear. This suggests its developer, Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC), is continuing to refine the design through successive prototypes as flight testing accelerates.
The images emerged about a month after China released its first official footage of a sixth-generation fighter prototype on state media.
Andreas Rupprecht, an aviation analyst and expert on China’s air force, said the structural differences between the earliest and latest examples made it unlikely the sightings simply showed a single aircraft being repeatedly modified.
“It is still difficult to assess this with any certainty,” he said. “But if one takes the reports from reliable sources as a basis, there is indeed some strong evidence to support it.”
The J-36 first attracted international attention in December 2024, when images emerged of a previously unknown tailless aircraft undertaking what appeared to be its maiden flight.
The large three-engine aircraft is widely believed to be one of China’s two sixth-generation fighter designs, alongside a smaller aircraft developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation that is widely referred to as the J-50.
Rupprecht said the J-36 programme appeared to have progressed through at least three distinct configurations since then.

The first aircraft featured caret-shaped air intakes, tandem main landing gear and box-shaped engine nozzles.
A revised configuration introduced diverterless supersonic air intakes, side-by-side landing gear and redesigned exhausts that might improve stealth and manoeuvrability.
The latest aircraft appears to retain many of those changes while introducing a modified nose section, suggesting continued refinement of the design as testing progresses.
Exactly why CAC is evaluating different configurations remains unclear.
Rupprecht said one possibility was that engineers were comparing alternative designs in real flight conditions to determine which performed best, rather than relying solely on wind tunnel testing.
“There is simply no experience yet in this regard for such a type of ‘fighter’,” he said.
He added that the changes could also coincide with a shift from the WS-10C engine to China’s more powerful WS-15, although there was not enough confirmed information to determine exactly what engineers were trying to optimise.
Even so, Rupprecht said the flight-test programme itself was moving unusually quickly.
Comparisons with the J-20 stealth fighter suggest the J-36 programme has reached key milestones faster, while using multiple prototypes for different trials would be consistent with CAC’s previous development practices.
“So yes, the programme does appear to be relatively mature and progressing quickly,” Rupprecht said.
But he cautioned against assuming that a rapid test programme would translate into equally rapid operational service.
He said he expected China to deliver an initial pre-production batch to the PLA Air Force before 2030, paving the way for a longer period of operational evaluation.
Rather than serving simply as China’s next stealth fighter, the J-36 was likely to serve as a large, heavily armed command platform capable of directing collaborative combat aircraft while using powerful sensors and long-range weapons to control a broad area of airspace, Rupprecht said.


“I am more convinced that the J-36 is something entirely distinct,” he said, describing it as an “aerial air-defence node” comparable in concept to an Aegis-equipped US warship coordinating a wider combat network.
That, he argued, made direct comparisons with the US Air Force’s Boeing F-47 misleading.
Although China appears to have a public lead in flight testing, too little is known about the classified US programme to determine which country is actually ahead. The smaller Shenyang aircraft, which some refer to as the J-50 or J-XDS, may ultimately prove the closer counterpart to the F-47.
The J-36’s unusually large size has also fuelled speculation about how China intends to use the aircraft.
Air power specialist Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute has argued that the J-36’s unusually large size might reflect the operational demands of the Indo-Pacific, where long distances and increasingly vulnerable aerial refuelling assets placed a premium on range and endurance.
A larger aircraft could also accommodate greater fuel capacity, a larger internal weapons load and more electrical power for advanced sensors and electronic warfare systems.
“[A] long unrefuelled range is increasingly essential in the Indo-Pacific for both American and Chinese leading-edge capabilities,” Bronk wrote in a 2025 article.


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Footage suggesting rapid design upgrades comes just a month after China released first official clip of a sixth-generation fighter


Footage suggesting rapid design upgrades comes just a month after China released first official clip of a sixth-generation fighter.


China’s air force

Shenyang Aircraft Corporation

Chengdu Aircraft Corporation

New images point to fifth prototype for China’s J-36 fighter jet in air power race with US

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Footage suggesting rapid design upgrades comes just a month after China released first official clip of a sixth-generation fighter

Footage suggesting rapid design upgrades comes just a month after China released first official clip of a sixth-generation fighter