New footage has emerged of the largest of China’s two new tailless stealth fighters, widely referred to as the J-36, although the designation remains unconfirmed. The video in question is perhaps the most impressive view of the aircraft so far and shows the unique three-engine jet on final approach to land at its maker’s factory airfield in the province of Sichuan in southwestern China.
We don’t know for sure when the footage dates from, but it’s the latest evidence of the progress being made in the testing of both this and China’s other tailless stealth fighter, an aircraft you can learn more about here.
The latest video comes after a relative flurry of recent imagery showing the J-36, following its apparent first flight on Dec. 26 and a second appearance last month. The footage is notable, however, for the fact that we see the aircraft at unusually close quarters, as it sweeps low over a freeway just outside the airfield perimeter. Filmed from inside a car, the J-36 is seen as it prepares to touch down, with its heavy-duty landing gear deployed, featuring twin wheels on each unit, and with its large twin split ruddervons working as stabilizing airbrakes, also clearly visible.
The video provides what’s probably our best view so far of the J-36’s cockpit area, which is notably streamlined with the top mold line of the forward fuselage. Combined with the aircraft’s very broad nose section, this strongly appears to indicate a side-by-side seating arrangement, with a single pilot’s helmet or ejection seat headrest visible. This seems to rule out a tandem two-seat configuration and a single-pilot cockpit also remains a possibility.
In the side view of the jet provided in the video, we also get another good look at the dorsal engine air intake and its apparent diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) design, with a prominent hump and forward-raked upper area. As the jet gets closer to the runway, the camera also gets a good view of the exhausts for its three engines, a unique powerplant arrangement for a modern combat jet.
The J-36 also wears some kind of splinter-type camouflage scheme, with distinct lighter-looking panels around the dorsal intake and aft of it. This is a feature that was visible in previous, much poorer-quality images showing the upper surfaces of the aircraft. Some kind of mirror-like coating, the like of which we have seen on all of America’s stealthy tactical jets for testing purposes, should not be ruled out, either. Meanwhile, lighter-colored areas on portions of the leading edges of the wings indicate the likely presence of apertures for electro-optical/infrared sensors.
The video has already been geolocated, confirming that it shows the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) factory airfield in the city of the same name, in Sichuan province, where the jet was first sighted back in December.
Source: The War Zone