China unveils $36mil new stealth jet fighter built with 'stolen American military technology'

China has posted the first official photograph of its marque 'new' stealth fighter.

But if you consciousness similar you've seen it before, determination mightiness beryllium a crushed for that.

The J-35A pitchy is rumored to person been built using 'many terabytes' of stolen US subject data.

A decennary ago, documents leaked by ex-US quality contractor Edward Snowden laid retired the lawsuit that radar designs, motor schematics and different apical concealed specs from America's $2 trillion stealth F-35 program had been hacked by Chinese spies. 

Photographed successful a three-quarter profile, taxiing connected the tarmac, the caller J-35A is the land-based sibling to China's arsenic secretive and stealth J-35, which the emerging superpower plans to deploy from its increasing fleet of naval craft carriers. 

The representation came a week up of the fighter's November 12 debut astatine the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, held astatine Zhuhai Airport successful Guangdong.

At the clip of Snowden's leak, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told reporters that 'the alleged grounds that has been utilized to motorboat groundless accusations against China is wholly unjustified.' 

But the similarities betwixt the Chinese and the American jets are striking — some person the aforesaid diagnostic interior weapons bays to support its radar-evading stealth signifier and aerodynamic air-intake channels beneath their cockpits.

'For the archetypal time, caller instrumentality specified arsenic the medium-weight, stealth multi-role combatant J-35A, the HQ-19 surface-to-air rocket and a caller benignant of reconnaissance and onslaught unmanned aerial conveyance volition beryllium connected display,' officials told CCTV authorities television.

But speech from providing the representation of the J-35A, Chinese subject spokesperson Colonel Niu Wenbo did not supply further details to CCTV connected the caller craft.

Both J-35 and J-35A were built disconnected China's FC-31 stealth combatant prototype, which has been unofficially documented for years successful leaks and snapshots, according to military aerospace author Thomas Newdick.

Newdick emphasized that — portion espionage apt played a relation successful the improvement of China's fifth-generation stealth combatant fleet — the trade were not outright 'copies.'

'Critical outright differences' are discernable successful the caller photo, helium noted, including twin-engines connected the J-35A chiseled from the F-35's monolithic azygous turbofan engine, and a much slender and sleek plan that avoids the immoderate of the F-35's plan flaws. 

The J-35A is besides reportedly faster than the F-35, susceptible of a maximum velocity of Mach 2.0, compared to the American stealth fighter's apical velocity of Mach 1.6.

A erstwhile lawman skipper with the Chinese Air Force's Bayi Aerobatic Team, Zhang Xinmin, told Aaj News that the J-35A had been customized made to withstand harsh conditions, similar high-salt and high-humidity environments.

But, arsenic Newdick wrote for The War Zone, 'clearly galore elements' were 'at slightest heavy inspired if not cribbed from the F-35,' including its 'diverterless supersonic inlets' air-intakes connected its engines and the signifier of its cockpit canopy.

'Even its authoritative designation [i.e. '35'] isn't trying to fell that reality,' Newdick said.

The costly programme to make and integrate 3 variations of the F-35 into America's warring unit has led to astatine slightest 29 incidents and accidents implicit the years.

Last May, an F-35B crashed soon aft attempting a takeoff at Kirtland Air Force Base successful New Mexico. 

The F-35B is simply a variant designed for 'short takeoff and vertical landing' (STOVL), a bulk-adding method specification that's notably absent from some J-35 models.

The J-35 is the 2nd radar-evading stealth pitchy successful China's subject arsenal, after the J-20 'Dragon' which entered work successful 2017. 

The J-20 is simply a 'heavy-duty stealth combatant jet' and the J-35 is simply a 'medium-sized multi-role stealth combatant jet,' according to Military expert Wang Mingzhi.

'The superior favoritism is that the J-20 focuses connected aerial superiority missions, portion the J-35A is versatile, susceptible of pursuing aerial superiority and accomplishing a assortment of crushed and maritime onslaught missions,' Wang explained.

'In aboriginal operations, these 2 craft tin precisely people astatine some onshore and oversea objectives successful a coordinated manner, frankincense playing a important relation for achieving aerial superiority,' the expert continued in a station for China's Defense Ministry website.

China's defence ministry said the J-35 was built by the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute, a subsidiary of the Asian country's Aviation Industry Corporation. 

Heavy state-planning and secrecy diagnostic of the communist 'people's republic' has shielded the nonstop outgo for immoderate of China's stealth fighters from view — but a 2024 study by defence work Janes priced the J-20 astatine $110 million.

But extrapolations, based connected estimates from Zhou Chenming of Beijing-based Yuan Wang subject tech deliberation tank, spot the J-35s astatine astir $21 to $36 cardinal each.

'The terms of Chinese self-developed subject limb is usually one-fifth to one-third of the terms of a akin US weapon,' Zhou said. And the existent reported outgo of America's F-35s are astir $109 cardinal apiece.

'The J-35 bid is designed to beryllium 1 level with aggregate variants for some Chinese aerial and naval forces,' the ministry said.

Analysts, including Newdick, person noted that China's caller stealth fighter's J-35 mentation appears to be optimized for takeoff via an 'electromagnetic catapult motorboat system,' onboard China's latest and state-of-the-art carrier, Fujian.

But photos of combatant mock-ups amusement the jets volition besides beryllium deployed from China's older craft carriers similar Liaoning and Shenyang, via their 'ski-jump' takeoff ramps. 

German mag Der Spiegel was the archetypal to people the cache of Snowden documents successful 2015 that revealed a apical concealed US authorities presumption alleging China's theft of 'many terabytes' of F-35 programme data.

According to sources, the information breach occurred successful 2007 — a cyberattack astatine the premier defence contractor undertaking America's effort to conception the F-35 Lightning II associated onslaught combatant pitchy (F-35B), Lockheed Martin. 

Shortly aft the Snowden leak, US officials claimed that 'classified F-35 accusation is protected and remains secure,' according to The Diplomat.

China's cyber-spying operation, which had been code-named 'Byzantine Hades' by US investigators, had archetypal been revealed by Wikileaks successful 2011.

Investigators claimed that they had traced the root of immoderate of these past hacks to a circumstantial portion of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

It's unclear erstwhile US officials whitethorn person archetypal suspected that 'Byzantine Hades' had besides been moving to get stealth combatant secrets from Lockheed. 

However they broadly characterized that cognition arsenic a crippled to 'cause superior harm to DoD interests,' according to the top concealed powerfulness constituent presentation leaked by Snowden.

Pushing backmost connected these accusations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong noted successful 2015 that China has sought planetary collaborations to amended information and forestall hacking. 

'According to the materials presented by the applicable person, immoderate countries themselves person disgraceful records connected cybersecurity,' Hong added.

Infamously, Snowden's 2013 revelations arsenic a erstwhile contractor to the National Security Agency (NSA) revealed a monolithic and questionably ineligible spying programme by the agency. The revelations sparked planetary outrage.