As major air forces race to define the next era of air combat, sixth-generation fighter programmes have become the focus of intense global competition. The United States is developing its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) system, the United Kingdom and partners are advancing the Tempest/GCAP initiative, and Europe continues with the FCAS project. Against this backdrop, China has quietly but steadily progressed its own sixth-generation ambitions. The emergence of the mysterious J-36 prototype, first seen in 2021 and increasingly visible in 2024 and 2025, suggests that the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) may be moving faster than previously assessed.
In 2018, the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation reportedly submitted eight proposals for a sixth-generation fighter design for the Chinese Air Force. In January 2019, Dr. Wang Haifeng, the corporation's chief designer, announced that China had begun pre-research on a sixth-generation aircraft, predicting that the programme would come to fruition by 2035.
Although not officially confirmed, four designs were subsequently tested in low-altitude wind tunnels.
The J-36 tri-engine, flying-wing, sixth-generation stealth fighter jet appears to be intended as a multi-role platform combining air superiority and strategic strike capabilities.
Lending credence to earlier rumours, in October 2021 a fighter aircraft with a tailless design, believed to be the J-36, was spotted at Chengdu Aircraft Corporation facilities. The aircraft bore the serial number 36011, following the People's Liberation Army Air Force convention, which led to the assumption that the model was designated as J-36. On 26 December 2024, online photos and videos showed a similar trijet, tailless flying-wing design, followed by a Chengdu J-20S twin-seater stealth fighter acting as a chase plane during manoeuvres at Chengdu. The Chinese Ministry of Defence, the People's Liberation Army, the Chinese aviation industry, and state media did not confirm or report on the tests.
Analysis of available video and photographic evidence reveals a shape that emphasises both stealth and supersonic performance. The prototype features a tailless, trijet, flying-wing configuration with a voluminous, blended, diamond-like double-delta wing optimised for transonic and supersonic flight. The wings have a leading-edge kink, resulting in two sweep angles.
The fighter is large, with a thin, wide nose section and a cockpit that appears to feature side-by-side seating. Behind the radome are electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) windows and a tinted canopy, with possible side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) arrays. The aircraft has dual-wheel nose landing gear, two underwing caret inlets, one dorsal intake with a diverterless supersonic inlet, and double-delta wings with leading-edge extensions and five trailing-edge control surfaces per wing, including split-flap rudders at the outer edges.
Multiple ventral weapons bays, tandem-wheel main landing gear, and the absence of a vertical stabiliser define its sleek profile. The trijet exhausts are recessed into trenches with articulated segments, reducing radar and infrared signatures. The dorsal intake increases internal volume while further shielding infrared emissions. Control hinge lines appear to be covered with flexible skins, and all compartment doors are serrated and precisely aligned. The continuous chine line and cranked wing layout, without tails, canards, or strakes, form the foundation of its all-aspect broadband stealth capabilities. Departing from most existing stealth designs, the EOTS is positioned between the radome and canopy.
On 17 March 2025, images and videos emerged on Chinese social media showing the J-36 conducting its second public test flight, this time without a chase aircraft. Further images from 7 April showed the aircraft landing at the Chengdu test facility, followed by manoeuvring sequences captured on 21 April. On 23 April 2025, close-up rear-aspect photographs revealed details such as recessed engine exhausts and a cockpit that appeared to confirm side-by-side seating for two pilots.
Although the powerplants have not been identified, the wing sweep angles suggest aerodynamic optimisation for supercruise. The primary weapons bay, approximately 7.6 metres (25 feet) long, appears capable of housing PL-17 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles or large air-to-surface munitions, flanked by two smaller bays.
Overall, the J-36 design appears to emphasise all-aspect stealth, high speed, long endurance, substantial payload capacity, large-scale power generation, and multispectral situational awareness.
The J-36, as it is generally referred to, could become a potential adversary to the American Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) programme. Speculation that the J-36 may reach initial operational capability earlier than its American counterparts has reportedly prompted renewed urgency within U.S. defence planning circles.
Experts have yet to reach a consensus on the J-36's primary role or its specific capabilities. The definition of a "sixth-generation" fighter remains fluid, but according to Wang Wei, Deputy Commander of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, the J-36 represents China's interpretation of what a sixth-generation aircraft should be.
