Images of the J-36 have emerged for the first time on Chinese social media, reportedly derived from video footage.

According to CNN, the J-36 is believed to be a sixth-generation aircraft, integrating advanced stealth technologies, next-generation avionics, and sophisticated mechanical and propulsion systems.

The platform features three engines and is designed without a tail, using flying wing architecture. The J-36 was seen flying low over a highway near the airstrip of Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, the facility in Sichuan province where the aircraft is believed to have been developed.

Aviation expert David Cenciotti, a former Italian Air Force officer, noted on his website that the six-second video provides a clear view of the J-36’s design.

The aircraft’s triple-engine configuration – with two intakes positioned under the wings and a third, dorsally mounted intake behind the cockpit – marks a significant departure from conventional twin-engine designs found on most modern fighters. Cenciotti also observed that the ample space in the aircraft’s underbelly suggests internal weapons bays, potentially enabling the J-36 to carry long-range missiles while maintaining stealth.

With the introduction of the J-36, China could be on track to match or even surpass the United States in the race to develop sixth-generation fighter jets.

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The US military’s fifth-generation fighters – the twin-engine F-22 Raptor and the single-engine F-35 Lightning II – are widely regarded as the world’s most advanced operational combat aircraft. China, for its part, has developed two fifth-generation fighters: the J-20 and J-35. However, neither has demonstrated the combat performance or operational experience of their American counterpart

Last month, US President Donald Trump announced that the contract for the US Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter – designated the F-47 – had been awarded to Boeing. Trump claimed that a prototype had already been flying for five years. However, the US Air Force’s official announcement of the F-47 contract, awarded on 21 March, made no mention of an operational timeline. It stated only that the agreement covers the engineering and manufacturing development phase, along with funding for a limited number of test aircraft.

While the J-36 has been the focus of recent headlines in military aviation, it is not the only sixth-generation fighter in development by Beijing.

On the same day the J-36 video surfaced in December, images of another new aircraft – a twin-engine, tailless design referred to by analysts as the J-XX or J-50 – also appeared online. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not officially acknowledged the existence of either the J-36 or the J-50.

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