China continues putting the world on notice. This time, China has put on display various versions of the J-36 sixth-generation fighter. Versions of this plane first caught the world’s eye after they were spotted flying over Chengdu in December 2024.
That incident was the first clear sign that China was quietly developing a sixth-generation warplane that would rival the vaunted Boeing F-47 and whatever either Northrop Grumman or Boeing (depending on which firm is chosen) builds as the Navy’s F/A-XX sixth-generation warplane.
Where’s the J-36?
Recent imagery now shows a substantially revised sixth-generation plane, and new footage demonstrates what appears to be a large jet maneuvering more aggressively than its unusual configuration suggests.
In other words, Beijing is moving rapidly to develop its rival to the new generation of American warplanes.
And with their industrial scale, the Chinese just might catch-up–or even beat–the Americans in this development milestone.
Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) is believed to be building the tailless, delta-shaped J-36 sixth-generation warplane.
This new bird employs three engines (which is unusual). It carries its weapons internally and is optimized for low observability, range, and payload. But the J-36 is huge for a traditional warplane.
Indeed, it has been speculated that the J-36 is a two-seat plane, meaning this system might be a long-range fighter-bomber.
A rapid, iterative process is also underway.
J-36 X Screenshot
J-36 Fighter Artist Rendition. X Screenshot.
J-36 Fighter from China. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
J-36 Fighter from X/Screenshot.
Yes, the Americans love to showcase their meticulous planning and exquisite design.
But an industrial superpower like China can innovate as it builds. Since China can produce complex systems at scale, Chinese engineers dissatisfied with one iteration of the proposed J-36 can theoretically build new variants.
Keen observers at the South China Morning Post have noted that images of the recent J-36, which differ from those previously seen, likely show the fifth prototype the Chinese have built.
Observers point to obvious changes involving the nose, intakes, engine nozzles, and landing gear.
That’s a stunning amount of prototypes for a sixth-generation warplane.
Multiple prototypes mean the Chinese learn from mistakes and perfect systems much faster than with one or two prototypes.
Advancing
With a tailless plane, removing the vertical and horizontal tails reduces radar signature but makes aerodynamic control harder.
So advanced digital controls are needed, along with large movable surfaces and likely thrust-vectoring engines to compensate.
This means China is becoming more comfortable letting the world see its sixth-generation warplanes.
That suggests Beijing believes its engineers have made considerable progress in developing these planes.
And if that is the case, then the Americans are in for some problems when it comes to the sixth-generation race.
The US Air Force has yet to show what its F-47 officially looks like.
F-47 Infographic. Image Credit: U.S. Air Force
F-47 Fighter from Boeing. Image Credit: U.S. Air Force Screenshot.
We’ve seen glimpses and nighttime snapshots of what might be the F-47 over Area 51.
The Air Force previously released digital renderings of the aircraft. But the Air Force is playing keep-away from the public.
Meanwhile, China is confidently displaying a significantly evolving capability.
So, either this is a psychological manipulation operation or the Chinese really believe they’ve inched ahead of the Americans in the race for sixth-generation warplanes.
And the Americans might be keeping their cards close to their vest because the technology involved is so advanced, they don’t want the Chinese to glean anything from publicly released pictures or data.
At the same time, the sixth-generation warplane program might be far behind the Chinese, and the Americans may not want to admit they’ve fallen behind.
Much Closer Race Than We Care to Admit
Undoubtedly, the F-47 will deliver some capabilities. But this is an exquisite, and therefore expensive, platform that will not be produced at scale the way the J-36 clearly is.
Therefore, by sheer mass, the Chinese are ahead of the Americans in the race for sixth-generation warplanes.
Even if the F-47 is more advanced, quantity has a quality of its own — and as the Chinese photographs are demonstrating, China has no qualms about producing various iterations of the same platform and seeing which is the best.
That’s a much harder task for the US military, which has a highly constrained defense industrial base.
About the author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is the Senior National Security Editor at 19FortyFive.com. He also manages The Weichert Brief on Substack. Weichert also hosts “National Security Talk” on Rumble. He is the author of four bestselling national security books, most recently A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine (Encounter Books). Follow him via Twitter/X @WeTheBrandon.