J-35 "0001 Serial Number" Fighter Jet Unveiled: This Special "Stealth War Eagle" Aims at the International Market

Recently, on a television program, a J-35 stealth fighter jet with the "AVIC" logo on its nose and the serial number "0001" slid out of the hangar, making a stunning appearance on screen and leaving military enthusiasts with a vast space for imagination.

This is not an ordinary equipment display; the aircraft does not bear the Air Force's "August 1" emblem, and its paint scheme differs from the military's standard version, while the English abbreviation for Aviation Industry Corporation of China, "AVIC," is very prominent. This detail quickly ignited public opinion both domestically and internationally: Has the "export version" of the J-35A officially emerged? How will this uniquely numbered stealth fighter impact the global air combat power structure?

Military commentator Fu Qianshao stated that this special J-35 has certain differences from the past J-35A or J-35.

The front landing gear strut of this aircraft is relatively thin and features a single wheel, indicating that it is an improved version of the Air Force's J-35A, rather than the naval carrier version. Additionally, its paint scheme is quite different from those currently used by the Air Force and Navy.

The aircraft's paint scheme is relatively simple, with a light gray color from top to bottom, clearly not yet painted according to user requirements. The final paint job will depend on the different needs of users.

The carrier version of the J-35 must withstand the tremendous impact force during landing, thus it uses a stronger dual-wheel front landing gear and is equipped with an ejection hook. In contrast, this J-35 employs a single-wheel design, which is clearly optimized for takeoff and landing at land-based airports. This structural feature, combined with its "bare" appearance that has not yet received the final paint job, further confirms that it is not a self-use model, but rather an aircraft in the final "stocking" phase, awaiting delivery. If the landing gear and paint scheme are merely "indicative clues," then the striking serial number on the fuselage almost directly reveals the answer.

Fu Qianshao: This new J-35 has the serial number "0001," which is clearly different from past numbers. In the early stages before formal project approval, the prototype of the J-31 was called FC-31, so its factory serial numbers all included the number 31. After formal induction, both the Air Force and Navy have their own special serial numbers, and their factory serial numbers undergo significant changes, but a number like "0001" would never appear; we can say that the "0001 serial number" is a third type of serial number. Coupled with the English abbreviation painted on the aircraft, it is not difficult to speculate that it is very likely an export version. Since the FC-31's early development focused significantly on export, now that this fighter has matured and has been inducted into both the Air Force and Navy, a third version is bound to emerge, so its serial number is likely to be J-35AE.

The self-use models of the Chinese Air Force never bear the "AVIC" logo, while this J-35 with the "serial number 0001" not only has the English abbreviation painted on it but also slid out from a hangar marked with English signage—every detail indicates:

The J-35 series fighter jets have acquired all the capabilities for mass production and export. At this year's Singapore Airshow, the model of the next-generation medium stealth multi-role fighter J-35A became the focal point of the entire event.

As China's independently developed fifth-generation stealth fighter, Fu Qianshao revealed that the J-35 series fighter jets are very likely to become a key export model in the next phase, stirring up a real "storm" in the global high-end fighter market.

Fu Qianshao: Currently, the number of F-35s produced in the U.S. is quite large, but there are certain restrictions on their export. If China's J-35 can be exported, it could become a strong competitor to the U.S. F-35.

(CCTV reporters Wu Zhehua and Hu Zechun)