China Now Fields Five Different Stealth Fighter Types: Transition Into the Fifth Generation Accelerates

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has for the first time unveiled all types of fifth generation fighter aircraft in service, with all five seen at a recent military parade on September 3 marking the 80th anniversary of Imperial Japan’s Defeat in the Second World War. China in February 2017 became the second country after the United States to bring an indigenous fifth generation fighter into service, namely the J-20, with the aircraft having rapidly evolved over the past eight years as its stealth features and overall airframe design have been refined, new engines have been integrated, and avionics and been updated. The J-20 program has represented a major landmark for China’s combat aviation sector, and for the first time in the jet era positioned a fighter from a country other than Russia or the United States as a leading contender for the title of the world’s most capable in air-to-air combat. Although the J-20 was present at China’s previous military parade in October 2019, not only were three distinct variants were involved in the latest parade, but an entirely new class of fifth generation fighter, the J-35, also made its debut.

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force is currently procuring four types of fighter aircraft in parallel, namely the J-20 and the new J-35 fifth generation fighters, as well as the J-16 heavyweight and J-10C lightweight fourth generation fighters. It was previously uncertain if the J-35, a medium weight fighter intended to complement the larger and longer range J-20, would be procured by the Air Force, or whether it had been developed exclusively into an aircraft carrier based variant for the Navy, and an export variant. In early July it was confirmed that the J-35 has indeed been procured by the Air Force, providing the service with a high-low combination of stealth fighters, and making it the first in the world to procure two different stealth fighter types in parallel. Less than two weeks after the J-35 was confirmed to have joined the Air Force, the first footage surfaced in mid-July confirming that an aircraft carrier based variant had joined the Navy.

The latest parade on September 3 saw China unveil the unrivalled diversity of its stealth fighter fleet, with the first stealth fighter seen being a baseline J-20 powered by indigenous WS-10C engines. The aircraft was seen refuelling from a YY-20 tanker, a new asset in the inventory which is expected to significantly further extent the fighter class’ already near unrivalled range. This was followed by a J-20S twin seat fighter, which is the only twin seat stealth fighter class in service anywhere in the world. The fighter variant was first unveiled in October 2021, and was more recently confirmed in July 2025 to have entered service. The twin seater was followed by modernised new variant of the J-20, referred to variously as the J-20A or J-20B, which can be distinguished by its much flatter cockpit canopy and distinctive low-profile appearance blending into its raised spine and a nose radome. This new stealthier variant is expected to integrate WS-15 next generation engines.

The modernised J-20 was followed by a pair of baseline J-20s, an accompanying J-16D electronic warfare plane, and a J-35 – three classes of tactical combat jet which are expected to operate together to make use of their highly complementary capabilities. They were then followed by a formation which included the People’s Liberation Army’s fifth class of operational stealth fighter, the naval variant of the J-35, which flew in a formation alongside four J-15 carrier based combat jets, including a J-15DT electronic warfare variant. In total all three major J-20 variants, and both the land and carrier based variants of the J-35, participated in the show of force over Beijing. Significant questions have been raised regarding the future of China’s fifth generation fighter programs due to the unveiling of two sixth generation fighter designs in December, both at fight prototype stages. A significant possibility remains that when these sixth generation fighters enter service, likely in the early 2030s, they will be considered more cost effective for many roles, resulting in major cuts to production of both the J-20 and the J-35.