Recently, a brand new prototype took off from the factory area of Shenyang 112, attracting global attention. This is the new generation of carrier based aircraft in China, the J-35, which has made military enthusiasts wait for a long time. The successful maiden flight of J-35 means that China has become the second country after the United States to possess stealth carrier based aircraft. This has great strategic significance for consolidating China's position as a major aviation power and national security.

The first flight of the new generation of carrier based aircraft has been successful, and it is expected to be put into operation in five years

At present, although China has two aircraft carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, the problem of insufficient carrier based fighter jets has not been solved.

Especially in recent years, the United States and Japan have been accelerating the deployment of aircraft carriers capable of carrying stealth carrier based aircraft around China. Japan has modified two "Izumo" class aircraft carriers capable of carrying F-35B stealth fighter jets, while the United States has dispatched the "Carl Vinson" aircraft carrier equipped with F-35C stealth carrier based aircraft to frequently cause trouble around China. In addition, the United States has also deployed multiple "Lightning" aircraft carriers capable of taking off and landing F-35B. The performance gap between their stealth carrier based aircraft and the J-15 fighter jets carried by Chinese aircraft carriers has indeed put considerable pressure on the Chinese navy. The development and future official deployment of the J-35 will greatly enhance China's national defense capabilities, and even reverse the passive situation in future confrontations.

It is reported that the J-35 has a very similar appearance to the previously released FC-31 stealth fighter, but there are several improvements in the details, including foldable wing design, catapult towing rods on the front landing gear, electro-optical aiming system (EOTS) similar to the US F-35 stealth fighter under the nose, and redesigned cockpit cover.

At the Zhuhai Air Show in November this year, a model of the FC-31 aircraft was unveiled at the Aviation Industry Group Exhibition Hall, sparking speculation from the outside world. Academician Sun Cong, the chief engineer of the J-15 fighter jet, also said in response to a reporter's question that if nothing unexpected happens, the next generation of carrier based aircraft will be unveiled "within the year". However, in just one month, the J-35 made a surprise appearance, which also indicates the urgent demand for this carrier based aircraft in China. According to an expert, the first flight of this aircraft model was several months ahead of schedule. According to this time estimate, the development of the J-35 is likely to last for at least 4 to 5 years, which means the earliest production date should be in 2026.

In addition, the appearance of the catapult bar on this aircraft model also indicates that this new carrier based aircraft was born to adapt to our military's catapult aircraft carriers. The first electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier will be launched at the end of this year and the beginning of next year, and then begin outfitting. By the time the new aircraft carrier completes its outfitting preparation for sea trials, the J-35 will also be able to complete its designed and finalized test flight tasks, and begin production and delivery of trial batches; By the time the new aircraft carrier begins sea trials, the new carrier based aircraft will be able to follow the testing team for pre production test flights and form the future Chinese defense force together with the J-20.

The key to invisibility - metamaterials become the core area of great power competition

This carrier based aircraft is currently the second in the world to have stealth capabilities, and its performance is directly comparable to the F-35. According to foreign media reports, this model may apply improved stealth technology to make it easier to maintain and operate compared to the J-20.

One generation of materials, one generation of equipment. In recent years, metamaterials that can be used as "invisibility cloaks" have received competitive research and development investment from major military powers, striving to achieve "one-way transparency" on the battlefield.

In previous public reports, Yang Wei, the chief engineer of the J-20, and Sun Cong, the chief engineer of the J-15, have revealed that in the future, domestically produced stealth fighter jets will wear "stealth suits" metamaterials. Due to the metamaterial structure, electromagnetic waves can be absorbed and modulated to control the radar reflection signal of the target, and the incident electromagnetic waves can also be perfectly absorbed. The stealth performance is not only effective for radar beams, infrared, optoelectronic and other detection equipment, but also has a good suppression effect, which is equivalent to putting a layer of "stealth cloak" on the outside of the fighter jet.

Stealth has always been the application direction with the highest "visibility" of metamaterials. Compared with conventional materials, metamaterials have basic characteristics such as novel artificial structures, unconventional physical properties, and "on-demand customization" design ideas. The enormous application potential and vast development space of metamaterials determine that they will demonstrate their remarkable abilities in future military applications. It is reported that the US F-35 fighter jets, B-21 bombers, and DDG-1000 coastal combat ships all use metamaterial technology.

Internationally, metamaterial technology has always been highly valued. Science magazine has listed it as an important scientific progress in the first decade of this century, and the US Department of Defense has listed it as one of the six key disruptive basic research areas of focus. China attaches great importance to the development of metamaterial technology, and the national "13th Five Year Plan" clearly proposes to vigorously develop metamaterials.

In terms of application, metamaterial technology has received high attention from governments, military enterprises, and research institutions in many developed Western countries, and has been elevated to a strategic development level. A large amount of manpower and material resources have been invested, and significant achievements have been made. The US F-22 fighter jet has successfully applied metamaterials with stealth capabilities - antenna covers. Sensors on Sweden's Visby class frigates are enclosed and surrounded by metamaterial antenna covers. The US LPD17 San Antonio class amphibious transport ship has a fully enclosed stealth mast made of metamaterials. The Russian Navy ship Hyundai "Fierce" has used metamaterial jamming aircraft antenna covers.

A strategic research report released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration pointed out that, from the perspective of metamaterial technology layout, China's metamaterial technology ushered in a leap in 2011, with the number of patent applications rising straightly and the patent growth rate reaching 60%. This leap was attributed to Shenzhen Guangqi Institute of Higher Technology, a high-tech start-up in China (hereinafter referred to as "Guangqi"), which applied for 703 metamaterial technology patents in 2011, becoming the patent applicant with the largest number of metamaterial technology patents in the world at that time. It is reported that as of the first half of this year, Guangqi has applied for 5851 patents and obtained 3630 authorized patents. The total number of patent applications in the field of metamaterials ranks first in the world, achieving coverage of underlying technology patents in metamaterials and becoming the undisputed global leader in metamaterials.

After more than 10 years of arduous efforts, Guangqi has successfully developed the basic research of metamaterial science into a metamaterial industry system, and released the world's first national standard in the field of metamaterials, "Electromagnetic Metamaterial Terminology," breaking the technological and standard monopoly of Europe and America on cutting-edge technology. And apply metamaterials to the product design, manufacturing, and delivery of major cutting-edge equipment in China, widely used in advanced aircraft, large unmanned aerial vehicles, marine aviation equipment, electronic communication systems, individual AI equipment, and other cutting-edge equipment fields, becoming a well deserved "major national treasure" in China's high-tech field.

According to industry experts' speculation, the J-35 may have adopted metamaterial stealth structural components throughout its entire body, which will be a milestone breakthrough for the large-scale application of metamaterials and the improvement of stealth fighter performance!. Due to the fact that the J-35 directly benchmarks the US F-35, and some structural components of the F-35 use metamaterial technology, but China's metamaterial technology is already in a leading position globally and can achieve large-scale applications, the J-35 should have slightly stronger stealth performance than the F-35

The successful maiden flight of the J-35 is of great significance for China to enhance its naval strength. In the future, with the finalization and commissioning of the J-35, it will greatly enhance China's sea and air defense capabilities. This not only takes a big step forward in promoting the construction of modern aircraft carrier forces in China's defense industry, but also means that China's aviation industry has overcome the stage of imitation and catching up, and finally caught up with the United States in the field of carrier based aircraft. Motherland, come on!

Source: Guoke Huanyu