At the Singapore Airshow 2026, scheduled for 2–8 February this year, the Chinese state-owned corporation AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) and trading company CATIC (China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation) unveiled a full-scale mock-up of the Shenyang J-35A multirole fighter aircraft.
Photos: MILMAG Archive
According to the Chinese defense news outlet China Military Online, following the presentation of a scale model at the Dubai Airshow 2025, the time had come for the aircraft’s international debut at Singapore’s largest defense exhibition. It is worth recalling that a prototype of the aircraft was previously displayed at the 15th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China) in Zhuhai, near Hong Kong, held on 12–17 November 2024.
During the Singapore Airshow, in addition to the J-35A, the “August 1st” (Ba Yi) Aerobatic Team of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force performed with eight single-seat Chengdu J-10CY multirole fighters. The team arrived in Singapore on 27 January this year, supported by a YU-20A aerial refueling tanker.
The full-scale mock-up occupied a central position at the joint AVIC and CATIC stand, alongside scale models of the Chengdu J-10CE and Chengdu/PAC FC-1/JF-17 Thunder Block III multirole fighters, the Hongdu JL-10 (L-15 Falcon) advanced jet trainer, the Xi’an Y-20 Kunpeng transport aircraft, the Harbin Z-20 multirole helicopter, and Wing Loong (Pterodactyl) series strike unmanned aerial vehicles.
J-35A
The J-35A is the land-based variant of the prototype carrier-borne J-35 aircraft, which, according to information released on 13 September 2024, conducted its first trials from the deck of the aircraft carrier CNS Liaoning (CV-16). Compared to the naval version, the J-35A features fixed wings and a single-wheel nose landing gear. It is worth noting that both variants appeared during the military parade in Beijing on 3 September last year, marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s capitulation and the end of the Second World War in the Far East. Earlier, in May 2025, the first two serially produced J-35A aircraft, bearing serial numbers 61820 and 61821, were observed, suggesting that the type had entered limited service. By July, Chinese media had shown footage of the final assembly line with multiple aircraft visible.
The J-35 and J-35A are derived from the fifth-generation J-31/FC-31 Gyrfalcon, developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), a subsidiary of AVIC. Importantly, the first two prototypes were configured for land-based operations, similar to the latest J-35A.
The first J-31 prototype (designated F-31 V1) made its maiden flight on 31 October 2012, powered by Russian RD-93 engines. The second, slightly modified F-31 V2, flew on 23 December 2015 and was powered by domestic WS-21 engines (previously designated WS-13E). At the time, regular flight testing was expected to begin in 2019, with initial operational capability (IOC) for the land-based variant projected for 2022 or 2023. It is now clear that the ultimate objective was the development of the J-35A.
Originally, Shenyang aimed to develop a relatively low-cost Chinese fifth-generation fighter for export, as the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) opted to field the heavier J-20A. Notably, the aircraft has already secured its first customer. On 2 January this year, Chief of the Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar, announced plans to procure the J-31/FC-31.
According to earlier reports, Pakistan was interested in acquiring approximately 30–40 aircraft of this type. In July 2025, the Russian newspaper Izvestia published an analysis suggesting that, following the decommissioning of the aircraft carrier RFS Admiral Kuznetsov and the potential construction of a successor, the primary carrier-based aircraft could be either the J-35 or a domestically developed Su-75, also known as the Checkmate Light Tactical Aircraft (LTS), subject to appropriate naval adaptation.
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