Chengdu J-36

The Chengdu J-36 (Chinese: 歼-36; pinyin: Jiān Sānliù) is a speculative designation given by military analysts to a trijet tailless diamond-double-delta winged aircraft under development by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC). As part of China's sixth-generation aircraft development program, the heavy stealth aircraft is envisioned for multiple mission set, including air superiority, strike, interception and command and control of aircraft teaming operations.

On 26 December 2024, an aircraft believed to be a J-36 was spotted conducting test flights in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Since the aircraft's serial number (36011) begins with '36,' following the People's Liberation Army Air Force convention, this model was presumably designated as J-36.^[1][2]

In January 2019, Dr. Wang Haifeng, chief designer of the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) announced that China had begun pre-research on a sixth-generation aircraft, predicting that the program would come to fruition by 2035.^[3] The plan was reiterated by Chinese state media in 2021.^[4]

In 2018, Chengdu Aircraft Corporation reportedly submitted eight proposals for the sixth-generation fighter design, and four designs were tested in low-altitude wind tunnels.^[5]

In October 2021, a fighter aircraft with a tailless design was spotted in Chengdu Aircraft Corporation facilities.^[6] Intelligence and rumors indicated the Chinese designs would use tailless flying wing or flying arrowhead configuration that can provide greater broadband stealth characteristics compared to the previous generation of fighters, new propulsion technologies, improved sensors allowing the aircraft to operate alongside unmanned teaming aircraft or unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), etc.^[7]

In September 2022, United States Air Force (USAF) General Mark D. Kelly, head of the Air Combat Command (ACC) suggested China was on track with the aforementioned characteristics for its six-generation fighter program, and he believed the Chinese design uses a 'system of systems' approach like the United States, which allows for "exponential" reductions in stealth signature and improvements in processing power and sensing.^[8][9]

In February 2023, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) shared its six-generation fighter aircraft concept on social media. The featured concept included diamond-shaped wings and tailless design,^[10] which correlated with earlier images released in various AVIC presentations.^[5]

On 26 December 2024, online photos and videos showed that CAC has publicly flown a prototype aircraft in Chengdu, Sichuan.^[11][12] The reveal coincided with the spotting of the Shenyang J-50 from its sister company, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.^[13][14] The aircraft was spotted flying around an airport owned by CAC and features a trijet tailless flying wing design. It was followed by a Chengdu J-20S twin-seater stealth fighter as the chase plane. Some photos showed the aircraft painted with code number '36' on the forward fuselage, thus, the aircraft was tentatively named J-36 by military analysts.^[15] Analysts speculated the aircraft may be either a sixth-generation fighter prototype or a regional bomber prototype design previously known as the JH-XX.^{[15][16][13][17]} Observers believed that CAC chose to carry out the flight on 26 December in commemoration of Mao Zedong's birthday.^[18][19][20] Evidence also suggested multiple demonstrations have occurred before the 26th of December flight.^[21]

The Chinese Ministry of Defense, People's Liberation Army, the Chinese aviation industry, and the Chinese state media did not confirm or report on the testing or aircraft.^[15][16] Still, analysts believed the lack of control on video footage spread was intentional to incite discussion and debates on the projects.^[22][23][24] The aircraft was eventually reported by Chinese state media in March 2025, referred to as the ginkgo leaf jet.^[25]

On 22 April 2025, South China Morning Post reported that a flight control system designed for tailless flying wing aircraft landing on the deck of aircraft carrier was published by the design team of the J-36, indicating a possible naval variant of the aircraft under development.^[26][27]

The prototype is a trijet tailless flying wing aircraft with a voluminous, blended, diamond-like double delta wing configuration, optimized for transonic and supersonic flight. The wings have a leading-edge kink, resulting in two sweep angles. The fighter is large in size, with a thin and wide nose area, cockpit with side-by-side seating^[28][29] and chine lines extending to the wing section.^[30] Behind the nose radome are the electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) windows,^[31] tinted canopy, possible side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) arrays, dual-wheel nose landing gear, two under-wing caret inlets, one dorsal intake with diverterless supersonic inlet, double delta wings with one leading-edge extension (LRX)^[32] and five trailing edge control surfaces on each wing (including two split flap rudders at outboard wing edges), multiple ventral weapons bays, two sets of tandem-wheel aft landing gear, absence of vertical stabilizer, and trijet engine bays with exhaust troughs and segmented articulation surfaces.^{[14][15][16][21][30]}

The aircraft's shape emphasizes stealth and supersonic flight. The stretched diamond double-delta wing provides reduced transonic and supersonic drag.^[33] The dorsal intake allows increased internal volume and shields its infrared signature.^[31] The engine exhaust petals are recessed in trenches, sitting inward of a deck structure located atop the upper trailing edge. This arrangement helps to block radar and infrared (IR) signature.^[34][31] The aircraft control hinge lines appear to be covered in flexible skins.^[33] Compartment doors are serrated and aligned.^[35] All sensors are flush with the fuselage,^[33][31] including the EOTS sit between the radome and canopy, a departure from existing stealth designs.^[31] The chine line and cranked wings are connected and continuous,^[33] without any tails surfaces, canards, and strakes present,^[35] thus providing the foundation for the all-aspect broadband stealth capabilities.^[33][35]

The aircraft's powerplants were unknown, including the identities, arrangement, and possible differences of the three engines mounted. The wing sweep angles indicate aerodynamic optimization toward supercruise.^{[14][15][16][21][33]} The primary weapons bay has an approximate length of 7.6 m (25 ft), apparently capable of housing PL-17 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles or large air-to-surface munitions, flanked by two smaller bays.^[15][21][33]

The overall aircraft design is speculated to emphasize all-aspect broadband stealth, high speed, long endurance, high payload capacity, large power generation, and multispectral situational awareness.^{[14][15][16][21][33][36]}

On 26 December 2024, the imagery of the prototype undergoing test flight appeared on social media, which was the first public appearance of the aircraft.^[21]

On 17 March 2025, images and videos emerged on Chinese social media of the second public test flight of the J-36 prototype, without the chase aircraft. The new imagery provided additional details, confirming earlier observations on the prototype's trijet configuration with afterburners, dorsal intake with the diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI), streamlined cockpit canopy, and split ruddervons on the outer trailing edges of each wing.^[37][38][39]

On 7 April 2025, the aircraft was captured in close-up imagery. Geolocation showed the aircraft was landing at the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation test facility, featuring a dedicated aircraft shelter for the J-36.^[40][41][42] On 21 April 2025, the aircraft was seen performing maneuvers.^[43] On 23 April 2025, the aircraft was captured in a rear aspect view, displaying details such as engine exhausts sit inside of the trailing edge, and a cockpit that possibly features side-by-side seating for two pilots.^[31][34]

Multiple flight testing continued in May and June 2025, with more detailed photographs emerging.^[28][29] The aircraft was confirmed to have a broad nose with large electro-optical aperture windows on the side, trapezoidal dorsal and lower air intakes,^[2] a raised access panel (or air brake) behind the dorsal intake, three weapons bays with a larger one in the middle and two smaller ones flanked on each side, and a cockpit with a side-by-side seating arrangement, with each pilot featuring their own head-up display (HUD).^[28][29][44]

Days after the December 2024 flight, United States Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall commented that the experimental aircraft testing and modernization efforts from China were expected from the United States Air Force (USAF) leadership, and it did not affect the American Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which was put on pause for review.^[45] Bryan Clark of the Hudson Institute suggested the Chengdu aircraft could be the potential adversary to NGAD and give American planners incentives to continue the NGAD program.^[46] USAF official Andrew P. Hunter acknowledged the J-36 may achieve initial operational capability (IOC) earlier than American sixth generation fighter programs, but believed the USAF system would likely produce the better product.^[47] Kenneth Wilsbach of the Air Combat Command (ACC) called for continuation of the NGAD program, citing increasing risks posed by Chinese sixth generation aircraft development.^[48][49]

Experts have not yet reached a consensus on the J-36's primary role or its specific capabilities. It is unclear what jet fighter generation and tactical usage the aircraft would be classified under, as the detailed capabilities of the aircraft are not publicly known, and the criteria of a "sixth-generation" jet fighter were not yet clearly defined.^{[21][50][51][52][45]} From the PLAAF perspective, Wang Wei, deputy commander of PLAAF has confirmed in an interview with state-owned media that J-36 is PLAAF's interpretation of a "sixth-generation" aircraft.^[53] The USAF leadership considers the aircraft a "sixth-generation" air superiority fighter.^[31][48][54] Other diverging opinions believe the aircraft could be a heavy fighter,^[37] fighter-bomber,^[2] multirole fighter,^[21] interceptor,^[46] bomber,^[55] or strike aircraft,^[46] given its large size, lengthened payload bay, and aerodynamic optimization intended for speed and range.^[46] Analysts also warned that putting J-36 into a traditional semantics, such as "bomber", could be a simplification that disembodies the roles and capabilities J-36 would represent in the context of future aerial warfare and strategy.^[35][56][57]

Bill Sweetman, writing for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, speculated that J-36 could serve as a supercruising launching platform for long-range missiles and a command and control hub for other manned and unmanned aircraft and that the J-36's overall size and flight performance should be categorized as a new category of aircraft, which he named the "airborne cruiser".^[51][58]

Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), suggested large crewed aircraft can offer unique strategic advantages for China and the US in the Indo-Pacific region, which has limited forward bases and increasing threats from missiles, drones, and electronic warfare (EW) environment.^[59] Bronk argued that while distributed uncrewed systems, such as collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), offer cost-effective combat mass, their reliance on datalinks makes them vulnerable to EW disruption, highlighting the enduring value of crewed aircraft like J-36, which can operate independently in contested environments.^[59]

Data from Janes^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2 (side by side seating)
• Powerplant: 3 × Engines

Performance Armament

• Hardpoints: Primary and secondary weapons bay for internal hardpoints

Avionics

• Active electronically scanned array radar
• Electro-optical targeting system

• JH-XX
• Sixth-generation fighter

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Boeing F-47
• Shenyang J-50
• Mikoyan PAK DP
• Global Combat Air Programme
• Future Combat Air System

Related lists

• List of fighter aircraft
• List of aircraft produced by China
• List of active People's Liberation Army aircraft