US F-35 Lighting carrying out formation flying

‘One Aircraft, Multiple Roles’

China plans to induct the aircraft into the Air Force and the Navy, similar to the US F-35 which has three variants – The F-35A for the Air Force, F-35B for the Marine Corps and F-35C for the US Navy. 

The F-35A can take off from an Air Force runway, the F-35B can hover and vertically land on amphibious attack ships of the Marine Corps and the F-35C, with a wide wingspan, is used for aircraft carrier landings by the US Navy. 

Earlier this year, China’s largest and heaviest aircraft carrier, Fujian, was out for sea trials. The conventionally powered aircraft carrier weighs over 80,000 tons and has the most potent aircraft launch system – EMALS or Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, which currently only the US operates on the USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest operational aircraft carrier. 

Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier

The US Department of Defence in a report on China’s naval modernization and its implications, said “China may be developing a carrier-capable variant of its FC-31/J-31 fifth-generation stealth fighter to complement or succeed the J-15 on catapult-equipped PLA carriers.  China reportedly is also developing a carrier-based airborne early warning (NAEW) aircraft, called the KJ-600, that is similar to the U.S. Navy’s carrier-based E-2 Hawkeye AEW aircraft,82 and stealth drone aircraft.”

The J-35 is reportedly a lighter version of the J-20. However, the combat capabilities of both aircraft remain unknown. 

The development of the J-35 fighter jet suggests that China is mirroring the US and aims to combat the latter in the Indo-Pacific. The inclusion in the air show suggests that J-35 is ready for deployment. 

Recently, the US deployed its new long-range air-to-air missile that could potentially disrupt the balance of power in the region.  The AIM-174B missile, onboard the US Navy’s F-18 Super Hornet, as seen in many pictures, is known to have an operational range of approximately 400 km.

Other Attractions At The Air Show 

At the Zhuhai air show, China also unveiled the world’s first twin-seat variant of a stealth aircraft. The J-20s was under development for a few years and has broken the cover at the air show. China says the aircraft is a “heavy-duty radar-evading fighter jet with long-range operation and multifunction capabilities.”

The J-20 fighter jets flew in a diamond formation at the air show. The Russian Su-57, also a fifth-generation fighter jet, participated in the event. 

Russia’s Su-57 participated in the air show
Photo Credit: AFP

The airshow will feature a dedicated drone zone for the first time. The Russia-Ukraine war has shown the world the growing relevance of drones on the battlefield and how it is being used extensively by Kyiv to counter the asymmetry in terms of military strength with Russia. 

China unveiled its ‘Killer Whale’ ship ahead of the largest air show. The dual diesel and electric propulsion ship is unmanned and can carry a range of weapons like rockets, anti-ship missiles and ship-to-air missiles. It can also allow take-off and landing of choppers at its helipad.

China’s Killer Whale is not the first unmanned surface vessel developed by a country. Earlier this year, the US Navy completed its first deployment of four unmanned ships which spent over four months in the Pacific for sea trials. The unmanned surface vessels – Sea Hunter, Sea Hawk, Mariner and Ranger – departed Southern California in August 2023 and returned in January 2024.

India’s AMCA Program

India is developing its 5.5 generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft which will have stealth capabilities and the Defence Research and Development Organization chief said the induction is expected by 2035. Air Force’s latest induction, the Rafale fighter jet, is a 4.5 generation multi-role aircraft that is deployed in the north in Ambala, Haryana, and Hashimara in Assam. 

While China has deployed the J-20 fighter jets close to the Line of Actual Control, experts have inferred that in the event of a conflict, standalone weapon systems like surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles and air defence systems will play a huge role for the Indian Air Force to combat and outmanoeuvre the Chinese. 

Watch: ‘India To Induct 5.5-Gen Stealth Fighter Jet AMCA By 2035: DRDO Chairman

In August, DRDO showcased 40 indigenously developed advanced systems and technologies at the International Defence Aviation Exposition IDAX 2024 during the Tarang Shakti exercise at Tamil Nadu’s Sulur. On India’s first 5.5-generation stealth aircraft, Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Dr Samir V. Kamat, said that India’s first 5.5-generation stealth aircraft will be inducted by 2035. He further said that India is among the very few nations to develop stealth aircraft.

“We sternly warn the Philippines to immediately stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hype,” Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army statement said. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The Philippine military on Saturday accused China’s air force of “dangerous and provocative actions” against one of its planes patrolling over a disputed South China Sea reef.

Two China air force aircraft “executed a dangerous manoeuvre at around 9:00 a.m. and dropped flares in the path of our NC-212i,” armed forces chief General Romeo Brawner said in a statement, recounting the alleged incident on Thursday “over” Scarborough Shoal.

He said the Chinese action “endangered the lives of our personnel undertaking maritime security operations,” adding that the pilot and crew were unharmed and “safely returned” to a northern Philippines air base.

China defended its operations on Saturday, saying it had “organised naval and air forces to lawfully… (drive) away” the Philippine plane, following “repeated warnings”, according to a statement by the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army.

The statement did not say what specific actions China took, describing its operations as “professional, standard, legitimate and legal”.

“We sternly warn the Philippines to immediately stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hype,” the statement said, adding that “China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) and adjacent waters”.

The incident is the latest in an increasingly tense confrontation between Manila and Beijing, which claims most of the South China Sea and seized the shoal after a 2012 standoff with the Philippines.

In June, the Philippine military said one of its sailors lost a thumb in a confrontation off Second Thomas Shoal, in another area of the South China Sea, when the Chinese coastguard also confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment including guns.

Beijing has blamed the escalation on Manila and maintains its actions to protect its claims are legal and proportional.

Following the Second Thomas Shoal clash, the two countries agreed on a “provisional arrangement” for resupplying Filipino troops based on a decrepit warship grounded atop the reef, and also to increase the number of communication lines to resolve disputes in the waterway.

The Chinese air force action Thursday took place a day after China carried out a combat patrol near the flashpoint reef to test the “strike capabilities” of its troops.

‘Provocative actions’

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims of several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Scarborough Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks, is 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.

Brawner said the Philippine military “strongly condemns the dangerous and provocative actions of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force that endangered the lives of our personnel undertaking maritime security operations recently within Philippine maritime zones”.

“The incident posed a threat to Philippine Air Force aircraft and its crew, interfered with lawful flight operations in airspace within Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction, and contravened international law and regulations governing safety of aviation,” he added.

A Philippine military spokesman told AFP the Chinese aircraft involved in the incident were “MRF”, an abbreviation for multi-role fighter jets.

The Indonesia-built NC-212i is a multi-role turboprop plane designed for maritime surveillance, troop transport, medical evacuation and “special mission”, according to the manufacturer’s website.