The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has revealed a rendering of a concept design for China’s next fighter. The tailless design appeared in a 31 January video released by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Ltd (AVIC)’s WeChat channel, and shows a somewhat puzzling configuration with mixed-and-matched features.
The tailless delta planform appears to have a J-20-style nose and wings. The concept has F-22-style caret inlets, as well as leading-edge root extensions, and unexpected, unstealthy exposed engine nozzles. Concept designs are not representative of final designs, but the design verifies, as would be expected, that China is working in earnest on next-gen aircraft technology. Wang Haifeng, chief designer at Chengdu, reportedly said in an interview that the Chinese goal is to field a new fighter by 2035. In October 2021, The War Zone website reported on new commercial satellite imagery, which revealed a tailless, J-20-sized fighter parked near a hangar at the Chengdu aircraft plant. Watch a Military News Update video on latest Chinese fighter design here. Story and photos courtesy of Aviationweek.com, and Thewarzone.com.
