China's J-36 & J-50 - First Impressions
China’s New Tailless Jets
It was on December the 26th, 2024, that images started to emerge from China of what appeared to be two new stealthy jets performing test flights. After a month, we still know little about these aircraft apart from what can be extrapolated from the vision available. Are these technology demonstrators, or developmental prototypes doing test flying before the production stage? We don’t know yet. We can be confident that China wanted the West to see these prototypes, an interesting play, sabre rattling at the very least. So, let’s very briefly dive into what we do know about this important reveal out of China.
The vision China has for air power is similar to that of the United States where new generation platforms will play a role as maned command and control platforms for drones with a high level of autonomy, electronic warfare, and more traditional independent fighter/bomber roles. These new platforms will rely on AI, advanced networking, stealth, and flexibility to perform multiple roles. We can safely assume that these new aircraft we are seeing in China aim to fill much of these 6th generation aspirations.
It's not unreasonable to assume these are demonstrators and so whatever features are observable today could very well change as the programs move toward a production stage. And keep in mind that a good deal of next generation platform capability is under the skin. Obviously the electronic systems and payload cannot necessarily be discerned simply by observing the exterior of the aircraft or it’s performance.
So what are we looking at?
An initial report by The War Zone, suggested that the first and largest of the aircraft revealed is a design from Chengdu Aircraft Corporation who also build the J-10 and J-20. The second, smaller aircraft, looks like it is a product of the rival Shenyang Aircraft Corporation who produced the J-11, J-16, J-31 and many others. These aircraft have been tentatively designated by analysts as the Chengdu J-36 and the Shenyang J-50.
J-36
The larger tailless double-delta winged J-36 may be a next generation Chinese bomber with a long combat radius covering the Indo-Pacific theatre. Analysts speculate that this might be a prototype regional bomber previously known as the JH-XX – A stealth fighter-bomber for long-range strikes, nuclear weapons delivery, and possibly a drone command station and other multi-role functions (somewhat akin to the B-21 Raider).
This aircraft has an estimated length between 20 to 26 meters (or 66 to 85 feet) and a wingspan of around 20 meters (or 66 feet). The landing gear is robust, suggesting a heavy aircraft and capacity to carry a significant payload. It is tailless with a double-delta wing, not a design for manoeuvrability or agility, but likely designed for efficient long-range cruise to deliver significant payloads. The lack of tails, canards, strakes and overall low-signature design is obviously to increase its stealth characteristics. A stand-out feature of the design is the many split elevons on the trailing edge of the aircraft, no doubt to increase stability and control of the tailless design.
The J-36 has a three-engine layout mounted in a row at the rear. The exhaust looks similar to the YF-23 for low-observability. The recessing of the exhaust in from the upper trailing edge limits line-of-sight to the exhausts themselves. There are two intakes on the bottom of the fuselage and one on the top. The three-engine design may not only provide additional thrust over a two-engine design, but may provide more electrical power to a platform packed with sensors, emitters, communication gear and their cooling, or even directed energy weapons.
The weapons bay seems to be longer and far deeper than on the J-20 indicating significant payload capacity – whatever that payload may be.
It’s unclear what the wide canopy is hiding – it could be a side-by-side seating arrangement but also could be a tandem setup.
The wide nose would likely house a large radar, but of course it would be pure speculation as to what that might be. The nose also looks like it has electro-optical apertures on either side indicating some sort of electro-optical/infra-red imaging system. According to some analysts it looks like the aircraft could employ a sideways-looking aerial radar array in conjunction with a traditional forward-looking array. This next gen design would no doubt employ a sophisticated radar and electronic suite for multiple functions such as warning, intercept, standoff targeting, surveillance, drone management and electronic warfare (almost like a mini AWACS).
Is this J-36, with its three engines, aiming to be China’s high-altitude, long-range, supercruise aircraft? We don’t know what engines are on this prototype, but China is catching up to the West in jet design and manufacture and could be looking for an airframe that will house future home-made advanced cycle turbofan jets that would be up to the task. Potentially this aircraft could significantly push out the envelope of Chinese tactical air power in the Indo-Pacific region. It could perform multiple roles including standoff surveillance and strike capability, putting US and allied assets at much greater risk.
The J-50
The Shenyang J-50 appears to be a heavy fighter with a sharply swept modified lambda wings, two jet engines, and a fuselage that seems to have two separate weapons bays. There doesn’t appear to be a tail, although there is the possibility that tailplanes could be sitting flush with the wing and could manoeuvre up when needed. However, there’s not a lot to go on with this aircraft, and we don’t know what the canopy or upper surface look like. It’s possible there isn’t a cockpit at all, and this may be an unmanned vehicle.
This twin engine design appears to have 2D thrust vectoring nozzles, similar to the F-22. It’s landing gear is lighter than the J-36, which would be expected for a lighter aircraft, and it’s overall impression is that of a multi-role air dominance fighter. It potentially has a longer combat range than the J-20, may supercruise if given the right jets, yet likely less agile than the J-20, if indeed, it doesn’t have any tailplanes. If anything, it looks to be a good complement to the J-36 prototype. If an autonomous unmanned aircraft, maybe the J-50 has a closer relationship to the J-36 than we may have first assumed.
Whatever these prototypes eventually become, they are sure to be a challenge for the US and her Allies in the region and should be taken seriously. Even with superior designs employed by the US, the Pacific is a very large and challenging battlespace. As Tyler Rogoway expressed in his analysis of these aircraft:
“Above all else, the J-36 and this other tailless fighter are remarkable engineering achievements for China at a time when clearly the momentum of quick technological progress appears to be building on Beijing’s side. This is especially true in the advanced air combat domain. Discounting these aircraft because the U.S. probably has something better that has been secretly flight-tested shows an outright lack of understanding of modern warfare and the avalanche of factors that would be at play in a fight in the Pacific.”
This is a challenging time as the major powers are in a race to gain the upper hand through technological supremacy, operational capability, and pure numbers of assets on the land, in the sky and on the sea. It’s a complex mix of manned and autonomous systems networked in such a way that it can quickly and effectively overwhelm the enemy. As Rogoway suggests in his analysis, it doesn’t matter if you have the most advanced experimental program on the planet if that development remains in the lab while the enemy overwhelms you with “operational iron on the ramp in relevant quantities to sustain combat operations”. Getting the entire networked ecosystem up to speed, in play, and in significant enough numbers is the enormous challenge for every side vying for dominance.
This is certainly an interesting and important development out of China and we look forward to more details coming to the surface in the near future. In the meantime, check out some of our other videos on current military jet designs from around the world.