The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has an idea to make a naval version of the J-36. The sixth-generation warplane will feature a computer training system to make this concept a reality, simulating the tasks a pilot needs to perform for carrier operations.
The J-36 brings a new level of ultra-stealthiness to the PLAN’s fleet if the Chinese have their way with the evolution of digital controls, enabling it to land on an aircraft carrier. The J-36 flew over Chengdu in December, and the aviation world was surprised, to put it mildly.
Meet the J-36 Fighter
The fighter features a blended wing and tailless design and is expected to fire hypersonic weapons, as well as possibly utilize lasers to target satellites in near-space altitudes. It might also serve as a “drone mothership” to fly loyal wingman drones, collecting reconnaissance and targeting data, and achieving more firepower from the uncrewed aircraft it controls.
China Might Have a Hit Here
One of China’s top military research publications, the Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica, outlined in an article a plan to make the J-36 carrier-capable. This naval variant is still in its early stages, but it demonstrates that the Chinese aerospace industrial complex is looking ahead to match the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX sixth-generation carrier fighter program.
Tao Chenggang, deputy lead designer of the AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, said in the paper that the danger of landing a sixth-generation plane on a carrier is “extremely high.”
Using Software to Mitigate the Risk
The J-36’s tail-less design makes the aerodynamics associated with carrier operations a risky endeavor. Chinese aviators will be greatly challenged – hence the need for a computer simulation program to help train them for landing with the J-36’s intricate design.
“Without horizontal stabilizers, the planes also struggle to maintain pitch control. Redundant control surfaces – such as elevons, pitch flaps, and spoiler-slot deflectors – often interfere with one another, generating destabilizing forces,” according to the South China Morning Post.
Watch Out for Turbulence Created by the Carrier’s Propulsion System
Another difficulty in landing is the way that aircraft carriers are propelled. There is a disturbance in the air coming from the aft of the vessel. This creates more turbulence that disrupts the flight path during landing and arresting.
But Chinese scientists are confident they can assist pilots in the process. This is called the “direct force control” maneuver. The solution involves employing advanced mathematics and physics that will enable the airplane to complete the carrier landing without difficulty. The Chinese engineers reckon the aerodynamics problems can be solved and it is only a matter of time before the J-36 can deploy on carriers.
The secret behind the operations will depend on quantum mechanics and the elementary use of robotics. This is a complex use of science that the Chinese hope to solve quickly with what I call the “computer-human hybrid” model, which means aviators will interact with software to complete the complex process of landing a J-36 on a carrier.
One aspect of the computer simulation is that the Chinese are testing tough landings in all weather, which includes different crosswind and headwind speeds. This means that the academics can try dangerous maneuvers without risking the destruction of an airplane. This will help eliminate pilot error. The article said the scientists completed at least 30 simulated landings in challenging environments.
The United States also conducts simulations to gain a deeper understanding of carrier landings. This system is called the “Magic Carpet,” and it has been instrumental over the years in training naval aviators to land their F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets. It is likely being used to push pilots to their limits when flying F-35Cs as well.
It is worth noting that the Chinese have not yet mastered carrier operations with the J-36, but they plan to achieve this capability to give the sixth-generation fighter a significantly greater deployable range and combat radius, thereby addressing U.S. carrier operational advantages in East Asia. A long-range stealth aircraft that can launch a hypersonic missile is just what the PLAN would need in a future conflict.
This is another example of how ambitious the Chinese are and how they love to match the United States with military operations tit for tat. “Whatever the United States can do, the Chinese can do better,” is the mantra. It is only a matter of time before the naval version of the J-36 can land on a carrier. That will be a massive day for the PLAN and a signal to the Americans and their allies that they don’t have such a significant lead in their aerospace operations on aircraft carriers.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
Aircraft Enthusiast
April 26, 2025 at 1:22 pm
They do have one big advantage: We know it actually flew already. America might claim theirs did as well, but without proof, that could be true or not.