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| J-31 (Click to Enlarge) |
By Wendell Minnick
China’s second stealth fighter jet, the J-31 Falcon Eagle, looks remarkably like earlier models of a twin-engine variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
Last week’s maiden flight of the JSF’s Chinese doppelgänger comes less than two years after the inaugural flight of China’s first twin-engine J-20 Black Eagle stealth fighter, built by Chengdu Aircraft.
“The general design is reminiscent of the F-35, with edge alignment and chines associated with this generation of low-observable aircraft,” said Doug Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace, at the U.K.-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. Reports of Chinese industrial espionage related to the JSF give this aircraft added interest, he said.
Built by Shenyang Aircraft, little is known of the Falcon Eagle’s true capabilities beyond analysis of the photos.
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