Reportedly designated J-50, the mysterious aircraft is a stealthy tailless twin engine design with a lambda wing.
New photos emerged online are now providing the clearest look so far at the mysterious new aircraft designed by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC). The aircraft is the second new design that was first spotted in December 2024, with the latter being the larger J-36 built by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC).
The new images
The new images allow for a better look at the new aircraft, which is called a sixth generation aircraft in some Chinese reports. At this time however it is not possible to classify the aircraft because its specifications and capabilities are not known and there isn’t yet a clear definition of what constitutes a sixth generation aircraft.
The first images emerged last year were low quality and did not allow to discern many details. What could be read from the images was that this aircraft is smaller than the J-36, with a stealthy possibly tailless design based on a lambda wing.
As it seems a new image – and IMO the clearest one so far – of SAC‘s next generation fighter project has been posted revealing some interesting previously not seen details.
(Image via @Captain小潇 from Weibo) pic.twitter.com/zgjdu5egc4
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 4, 2025
These details have now been confirmed by the new images, which clearly show the lambda wing planform and debunked an earlier hypothesis, based on a patent’s drawings, that the aircraft could feature a “convertible” wing, with the trailing edge of the inner half wings able to rotate around the root and transform into vertical tails at lower speeds, while the wing becomes a more traditional swept design.
This concept, while interesting, has a series of pros and cons, with the latter including increased complexity and thus weight, as well as lower structural efficiency and radar cross section (RCS) increase. Among the pros are the improved flight dynamics at lower speeds, where the presence of the vertical tails would allow increased directional stability and control, especially in complex conditions such as a single engine inoperative.
The lambda wing itself already provides advantages, as this planform increases the aspect ratio and improves the aerodynamic efficiency over a trapezoidal planform, such as the ones that Shenyang already used on the recently introduced J-35, while still complying with the constraints imposed on wing design by low observability requirements. However, the broken trailing edge degrades the structural efficiency and increases the wing’s weight.
Few points on Shenyang’s 6th Gen
DSI Intakes
360° EOTS
Dual front wheel
Additional side bays
Movable wingtips
2D nozzles (TVC ?) https://t.co/unifokGwr5 pic.twitter.com/MWdJvvTRjs
— Húrin (@Hurin92) April 4, 2025
Other details are now clearer, such as the design being a twin engine aircraft with what appears to be 2D thrust vectoring nozzles. The air inlets, positioned on the sides of the fuselage, could be Diverterless Supersonic Inlets (DSI), each feeding one engine.
The aircraft is equipped with the usual tricycle landing gear, with the nose landing gear being twin wheel. The jet might be equipped with both ventral and side weapon bays, although the images are not sharp enough to discern panels’ lining on the fuselage.
Finally, a bulge on the fuselage just below the cockpit could house an electro-optical sensor, similar to the EOTS-equivalent developed for the J-35, according to Chinese aviation observers. Also, the same reports mention that the wingtips of the aircraft could be movable, as in the image the tip of the right wing appears to pivot around a central point.
Quite accurate renders
Also a hint that next gen AAM (pl15 successor) will be shorter with revolutionary propulsion.. https://t.co/uRvTfNyv6W pic.twitter.com/D8YUufcZBa
— Húrin (@Hurin92) April 4, 2025
The jet’s first sighting
The J-50 was first spotted on Dec. 26, 2024, few hours after the first images of China’s new supposed regional stealth bomber surfaced online. While the latter flew from Chengdu Aircraft Corporation’s (CAC) headquarters in Chengdu, the former flew from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation’s (SAC) facilities.
Although that was the first time it was spotted, as it flew over a densely populated area, according to some reports the jet flew for the first time the previous week. The jet was escorted by a Chinese Flanker derivative acting as chase, as is usual during flight testing.
The images didn’t allow to see whether a cockpit is present, although it is unlikely to be an unmanned aircraft and it is a general understanding among Chinese observers that this is indeed a manned aircraft. Also, it is unclear what would be the role of this aircraft, if it is another 5th generation design or the rumored 6th generation J-XX fighter.
The fact that the aircraft flew over populated areas is not casual, as Dec. 26 is an important day for China. In fact, it is the birthday of Mao Zedong, the founder of the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and thus many important events are usually kept for this day. For an instance, the J-20 first emerged on Dec. 26 about a decade ago.
The two aircraft flew in broad daylight over densely populated areas, so there was no apparent effort to hide them even with the secrecy which usually surrounds new aircraft development in China. So far there are no official comments, however the fact that the images are being freely shared without any intervention by the authorities lead to the opinion that the decision to have the aircraft spotted during the flights was deliberate.
