First Public Flight For China's Stealth Fighter

First Public Flight For China’s Stealth Fighter

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, November 11, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

China's J-31 twin-engine stealth fighter made its first public flight at the Zhuhai airshow.
Chinese officials plan to market the J-31 globally as a lower-cost alternative to the Lockheed Martin F-35.
AVIC aims for the J-31 to break the foreign monopoly on new-generation jet fighters and become a flagship international arms product.

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Chinese officials flew their J-31 twin-engine stealth fighter in public for the first time at this week’s Zhuhai airshow, and said they plan to market the airplane globally as a lower-cost alternative to the Lockheed Martin F-35. “It is our dream to break the monopoly that foreign countries have on new-generation jet fighters,” said Li Yuhai, the deputy general manager at AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China), at an airshow news conference. “The J-31 will also be a flagship product for us in the international arms market.” The J-31, which first flew in October 2012, flew during the Tuesday airshow, but was not put on display on the flight line. A mock-up of the jet is on exhibit.

The biannual China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai is being held this week for the 10th time. It has become the biggest commercial and defense aviation event in Asia, with more than 700 companies exhibiting.