China’s navy starts testing a next-generation fighter jet on one of its aircraft carriers

• China tested a next-generation fighter jet on its CNS Liaoning aircraft carrier.

• State media reported the take-off and landing tests last week.

• It’s the first public confirmation of the J-35’s trial deployment on the carrier.

China said it tested its next-generation J-35 fighter jet on one of its aircraft carriers.

The announcement, which confirmed a successful landing and takeoff of the aircraft, is the first public confirmation of the J-35 operating on the carrier.

Footage published by China Central Television last week documented the test, which occurred on the CNS Liaoning aircraft carrier.

In the video, a senior noncommissioned officer on the Liaoning told CCTV about the historic tests, confirming the J-35 successfully took off and landed from the carrier; the videos released, however, do not show the J-35 taking off or landing.

Details on the exercise were scarce, and it’s unclear when and where the footage was shot, although the news confirms the carrier-based variant of the Chinese FC-31 stealth fighter, also known as the J-35, has begun its first trials on the carrier.

China currently only has one carrier-based fighter jet, the J-15, which entered service over a decade ago, but rumors surrounding a carrier-based variant of its new fifth-generation fighter have circulated. The J-15 is a fourth-generation jet whose mission load of weapons and fuel is limited by its heavy weight.

In July 2022, what appeared to be some of the first pictures of the carrier prototype of the J-35 stealth fighter appeared online. The J-35 is estimated to be as much as 22,000 pounds lighter than the J-15 it would replace but it is still heavier than US naval fighters.

The Chinese navy previously released a video in February 2023 of a young naval pilot preparing to fly what looked like a new carrier-based jet.

With the testing, China’s navy prepares to take a major step forward in its carrier air-wing capabilities.

The Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, features a Soviet-style ski-jump ramp for launching aircraft, which puts limits on what types of planes can operate on the carrier and what specific load outs can be carried.

The CNS Fujian, China’s third aircraft carrier, made a major technological jump to an advanced catapult launch system akin to the US Navy’s new Ford-class carriers, meaning Fujian can launch aircraft with heavier loads for sorties.

Experts and former US Navy personnel previously told Business Insider the Fujian would allow China to launch more modern aircraft it’s currently working on, such as the carrier variant of the J-35.

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