CHINA’S next-generation carrier-borne fighter jet, dubbed the J-35 by military observers, has started trial operations on CNS Liaoning, an aircraft carrier of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, according to China Central Television. In a video clip published by the State broadcaster Friday, Zhang Naigang, a senior noncommissioned officer on the Liaoning, said that “the new combat aircraft landed on the carrier as my service career has approached its end.” He told CCTV the new plane is “very beautiful,” adding that the day was fine and clear when the jet arrived for its first landing and takeoff test on the Liaoning. “It was basically like the day when the J-15 performed its first takeoff from the ship,” Zhang recalled, referring to the Navy’s current carrier-borne fighter jet. He said that he witnessed the new jet’s first takeoff from the Liaoning with excitement and pride. Zhang is the head of the takeoff section of the aircraft operations support department on the Liaoning. While he did not mention any details about the new type of fighter jet and the tests that have been done on the carrier, his remarks confirmed the new aircraft’s trial deployment on the Liaoning. The J-15 entered service more than a decade ago. In February last year, the Navy released a video of a young naval pilot recruit from a carrier-borne aviation unit being ordered to undertake a new, challenging task and walking toward what appeared to be a stealth fighter jet. The presentation was blurred for security concerns, but the stealth aircraft appeared to have a typical aerodynamic design and a characteristic only used on carrier-based planes — folding wings. The J-15, in contrast, has a conventional configuration. Military observers have long been speculating about a new-generation carrier-borne combat plane, which they said has been given an official type designation of J-35. Several pictures of a mid-sized stealth fighter jet circulating on Chinese weapons websites have reinforced assertions that the new plane is nearly ready for delivery. Song Zhongping, a military affairs commentator and retired PLA officer, said that while the J-15, the first and only carrier-borne fighter jet deployed in China’s carrier force, has good capabilities comparable to those of Russia’s Su-33 and the United States’ F/A-18 Hornet, it is not good enough to confront stealth aircraft, which is of paramount importance for future carrier fleets. The J-35’s biggest edge is the stealth capability and it also has strong combat capability in air and sea operations. The combination of J-15 and J-35 will enable each of them to give play to their advantages in operations, thus creating a safer shield to a carrier strike group,” he added. It’s believed that the new carrier-borne jet is modeled on the FC-31, a stealth combat aircraft unveiled in 2012 and designed by the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute. (SD-Agencies) | 