‘NGAD’ Problems: Is China Ahead of America in the Stealth Fighter Race?

The United States and its allies must realize one thing when it comes to aerial warfare. China keeps churning out more and more stealth fighter jets, which leads one to wonder just how the Americans and the West can keep up.

From fifth-generation to sixth-generation airplanes, the Chinese do not disappoint.

China’s Stealth Fighters Explained

Let’s look at the Chinese Air Force’s (PLAAF) powerful and advanced radar-evading fighter jets.

Chengdu J-20

The Chengdu J-20 is a fifth-generation fighter that has been built in great numbers—some analysts believe around 195 are in service today, but others reckon as many as 300 airplanes were built. The stealth warbird is known as the Mighty Dragon. It has been flying for several years now, and its first flight was in 2011. The J-20 is an air superiority fighter with great range and a penchant for achieving excellent ground strike capabilities. 

The J-20 has better munitions capacity than the F-35. It can fly with 27,998 pounds of internal and external ordnance. Thus, the J-20 can be a “bomb truck” to remove numerous surface targets if needed. The Mighty Dragon also has respectable speed at MACH 2 with its afterburner turbofan engine. Canard wings and a chined forebody enable radar evasion qualities, although it is not considered as stealthy as the F-35 and F-22.

Shenyang J-35A

The Shenyang J-35A brings a lot to the table. The stealth fighter looks like an F-22 or F-35, borrowing heavily from American design. It has MACH 1.8 speed, a shade slower than the J-20 but still as fast as the F-35. The J-35A has an impressive thrust-to-weight ratio and rate of climb. It is smaller than the J-20, but that allows it to have a high ceiling. Like the F-22, it is an air superiority fighter, and the Chinese believe the J-35A is an excellent dogfighter.

The single-seat, twin-engine J-35A was unveiled at the Zhuhai Air Show last November, and it could still be in test and evaluation mode before full serial production. It is believed there are three prototypes. Since the Chinese now have two functioning stealth fighters, they join the Americans as the only other nation with a pair of radar-evading warbirds. The J-35A will eventually have the powerful WS19 afterburning turbofans.

Chengdu J-36 Stealth Fighter

The Chengdu J-36 is a new addition to the stealth fleet. The J-36 has been spotted recently, and it is a triple-engine tail-less flying wing. The fighter is a sixth-generation warplane thought to have excellent avionics and maneuverability for a large airplane. The J-36 is believed to have great thrust and a high ceiling with enviable speed for a radar-evading jet.

The J-36 has internal weapons bays and is expected to be able to carry a significant amount of ordnance. It will likely be nuclear-capable and could serve as a “drone mothership” to control a flight of combat drones for better electronic warfare capabilities, the ability to forge ahead to identify ground targets, and the ability to assist with bomb damage assessment.

The J-36 could conceivably fire hypersonic weapons and perhaps even lasers at near space altitudes to take out satellites.

J-50/ J-XX

Not much is known about the J-50/ J-XX, but it is a tail-less twin-engine jet. The J-50 is another sixth-generation model for the Americans to ponder. It has been in development since 2018 as an effort to make a new, next-generation, highly stealthy jet that could outfly the F-22 and F-35.

The J-50 likely has advanced sensors and radar. It is also thought to be another drone quarterback that can lead a flight of Loyal Wingmen like the J-36. 

The J-50 first flew recently—in December 2024—near SAC’s manufacturing plant in Shenyang, Liaoning, China. Its tail-less “lambda wing” design should allow it to evade radar with the best of them. The airplane’s articulating, swivel-able wingtips also give it great maneuverability and agility. The J-50 likely has engines with thrust vectoring nozzles for better acceleration and a high ceiling.

How Many Stealth Fighters Does China Have? 

There you have it. China has two fifth-generation airplanes and two sixth-generation airplanes, at least, according to the latest data we have.

This matches the United States with its F-35 and F-22 fifth-generation warbirds, the American sixth-generation F-47 NGAD, and the Navy’s F/A-XX.

U.S. Air Force Technical Sgt. Fernando Llama, F-22 Demo Team avionics specialist, preforms an engine run to check all aircraft systems are good-to-go for the 2022 FIDAE Air & Trade Show, April 3, 2022 in Santiago, Chile. Avionics specialists like Llama are responsible for the maintenance of the onboard flight computers, integrated avionics, and many electrical systems and components. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Don Hudson)

U.S. intelligence analysts will have their hands full keeping up with Chinese sixth-generation fighter development as East Asia could become an aerial battlefield someday.

The United States needs to pick up the pace with China as the Middle Kingdom matches the Americans with stealth fighter development. The United States seems to be losing its lead in fighter jet stealthiness.

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.