I fully understand the eagerness of our Pakistani friends to get J-35 fighters as soon as possible. But this is a fighter jet, not a toy. It needs to be treated with great scientific rigor.
About SAC production base.
------ official news .
SAC moved as a whole to a new facility. As SAC is a very large organization, this work will continue for many years. The first phase of this relocation program is expected to be completed by the end of this year (2025). Trial production is expected to start early next year (2026).
------ unofficial news.
The first phase of the project will mainly consist of the J-35 production plant and other related facilities. According to the analysis of Chinese social media about industrial manufacturing experts, the J-35 makes extensive use of 3D printing to manufacture parts. Comparing this kind of production method with the traditional one: the number of parts is reduced by about 50%, the production cost will be greatly reduced, and the production cycle will be shortened significantly. However, the capital investment in this kind of factory is very huge.
A small number of J-35s can be manufactured on an experimental basis in SAC's old (current) factory.These J-35s are mainly used for trials, testing and training; they are not the actual delivery version.
About the development progress of the J-35.
The J-35A was officially unveiled during the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow.
If we look closely at the photos, we will find some details. These J-35A are not installed with electronic equipment for combat use. The windows of all combat-use electronic equipment are reserved and closed. ------ Those who are interested in this can compare the photos of J-35A and J-20.
It shows. Strictly speaking, the J-35A of this period is just an airplane and cannot be considered a 5th Gen fighter yet. It still has a lot of testing to do.
As of now, there is no news of the J-35A officially appearing at an airbase.
Special Notes:
Airports currently visited by the J-35A (excluding the FC-31 phase).
SAC Airport. This is the production test flight airport for SAC.
During the Zhuhai Airshow, the J-35A is parked at Foshan Airport (military-civilian airport). It rested and refueled at Wuhu Airport (Air Force Base) halfway through its trip from SAC Airport to Foshan Airport.
These are not considered official access to the air force base.
This is what has been checked and does not represent the real situation.
If anyone is interested, keep an eye out for satellite photos of the following airports this year.
J-35 Air Force version
Air Force Bases: Dingxin Base, Cangzhou Base
J-35 Navy Version
PLA Navy Naval Aircraft Test and Training Base (Xingcheng, Liaoning)
Test Bases
Chinese Flight Test Establishment (Yanliang, Shaanxi)
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@Muji.Iqbal
Please do not address politics, religion, nuclear weapons, intercontinental missiles, and other unrelated topics in this thread.
There are already too many threads polluted on PDF, let's stay focused in this thread.