Chinese aircraft manufacturer hosts first flights of 2026 for J-35 stealth fighter jet
An unpainted J-35 stealth fighter jet takes off at an airfield of the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province on January 6, 2026. Photo: Official account of AVIC
China's top aircraft manufacturer, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), on Wednesday announced that it had hosted first flights of the new year for the J-35 carrier-based stealth fighter jet among other types of aircraft, accompanied by photos and a video. An expert said the move demonstrated China's confidence in its warplane production capabilities.
AVIC revealed in Weibo posts on Wednesday that a J-35 conducted its maiden flight of the new year on Tuesday at the AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province.
The J-35 carrier-based stealth fighter jet has drawn widespread attention since making its debut at China's V-Day military parade in Beijing on September 3, 2025. Compared with its Air Force counterpart, the J-35A, the J-35, the naval variant, is specifically designed for aircraft carrier operations.
The J-35 was among the three types of aircraft that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy announced on September 22, 2025 had completed initial catapult-assisted takeoff and arrested landing training aboard the Fujian, China's first electromagnetic catapult-equipped aircraft carrier. The Fujian later entered service with the PLA Navy on November 5.
Attached to the latest AVIC post, two photos and a video clip showed an unpainted J-35, coated in a green primer, lifting off from an airfield.
This was not the first time an unpainted J-35 had appeared in an official report. On October 5, 2025, China Central Television released footage showing unpainted J-35 and J-35A aircraft under construction at hangars of AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.
Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of the Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the green primer indicates the J-35 has not yet been painted with tactical coating, meaning the aircraft is newly manufactured. The latest flight was likely a factory or pre-delivery test flight conducted before the aircraft is handed over to the PLA Navy, after which it would receive full tactical coatings.
AVIC also announced on Wednesday that two test aircraft took off from Yanliang Airfield in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Sunday, marking the launch of the year's first scientific research test flight mission. The company did not disclose the aircraft types or release imagery.
According to AVIC, other aircraft that have made their first flights of 2026 included the AG600 amphibious aircraft and multiple helicopter models produced by AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co Ltd and AVIC Changhe Aircraft Industries Group.
Wang said that the Chinese aviation industry's concentrated release of information on aircraft development and production reflects a higher level of openness and signals growing confidence.
Now that advanced aircraft such as the J-35 have already been unveiled in previous events, it is natural that the public is seeing more details of the aircraft's production process, Wang said.
Wang Yongqing, the chief designer of multiple types of aircraft as well as the chief expert of the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute under AVIC, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview in June last year that the J-35 series, developed with an "air-sea twin configuration" approach and a "one aircraft, multiple variants" concept, is expected to enter large-scale production in the future, with the aircraft acting as a "point guard" in systematic combat operations and delivering outstanding performance.
AVIC revealed in Weibo posts on Wednesday that a J-35 conducted its maiden flight of the new year on Tuesday at the AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in Shenyang.
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