The surprise at the appearance of the enormous Chengdu stealth aircraft on Thursday was not the only unusual event promoted by the Chinese government to demonstrate its air power.
A little over 2,000 km away, in Shenyang, northeast of the country, a similar ritual provided the first sighting of an alleged smaller stealth fighter.
Unlike the surprising Chengdu design, which has three engines and considerable dimensions, the aircraft attributed to the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation is said to be a twin-engine tailless aircraft.
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The images and videos were less generous, which prevents a more assertive observation, but the jet appears to have horizontal stabilizers slightly tilted upwards, like Northrop’s YF-23 prototype.
The air intakes are narrow and on the sides of the aircraft, while the simpler landing gear reinforces the impression of a smaller design – it flew in pursuit of a J-16 fighter, possibly.
It is unclear, however, whether there was a cockpit, which could indicate an unmanned aircraft. However, this hypothesis seems unlikely given the fact that the prototype flies over urban areas.
Despite having appeared on social media shortly after, some reports claim that the Shenyang aircraft had flown last week.
Supersonic stealth fighter-bomber
Amid the new revelation, more images of the alleged “J-36”, as some observers called the Chengdu trijet, continued to emerge throughout Thursday, some of them in higher resolution.
The photos bring some certainties, such as the presence of three engines as well as a large internal weapons bay well outlined in the belly of the aircraft.
The tandem main landing gear appears to have been a solution to allow for carrying more bulky weapons internally.
If confirmed as a stealth attack aircraft, China will have a unique asset, as the Chengdu jet would combine low-observability characteristics with a large payload capacity and supersonic speed.
Unlike the H-20, the still-unreleased Chinese heavy bomber, the “J-36” would be used for tactical missions, while the Xian flying wing would be a long-range, subsonic aircraft.
The appearance of the two aircraft on December 26 was no coincidence. That was the day Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s Republic of China, was born.
There was nothing more appropriate to convey a message of the air power of the country’s communist government.
