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Does this blurry photo mark ‘official declaration’ of China’s sixth-generation fighter?
State broadcaster releases grainy image of tailless aircraft just days after US announces plans to build the next-generation F-47 jet
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Amber Wangin Beijing
The release of a blurry plane photo by China’s state broadcaster amounts to an official announcement of lift-off for the country’s sixth-generation fighter jet programme, according to a military analyst.
The image of the aircraft, resembling one developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, appeared at the end of a video released by CCTV on Sunday to mark the 27th anniversary of the fourth-generation J-10 jet’s maiden flight.
The 27-second video included footage of the J-10 jet and the fifth-generation J-20, and ended with the image of the ginkgo leaf-shaped, tailless aircraft and the caption: “What will be next?”
“This marks the first time there’s been an official declaration of Chengdu’s sixth-generation fighter, indicating a successor to our J-10 and J-20,” Chinese military analyst Song Zhongping said.
The release of the image also throws down the gauntlet to the United States, which announced on Friday that Boeing would build the US Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter plane, the F-47.
“Nothing in the world comes even close to it,” US President Donald Trump said.
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