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The Engines In China’s ‘Stealthy’ New F-35 Rip Off Smoke Like A Chimney [VIDEO]

Giuseppe Macri Tech Editor
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Thursday footage of China’s new Shenyang J-31 Falcon Eagle fifth-generation fighter — which copies major design elements from the F-35 and F-22 — conducting a test flight shows one feature of the stealth fighter that could pose a problem for hiding from the enemy.

The video spotted by The Aviationist of the fighter performing some pretty basic maneuvers ahead of a major air defense show in Zhuhai, Guangdong outside of Hong Kong next week shows some rather smokey engines powering the fighter through simple banks and turns — certainly nothing that should merit any strain on the airframe or its engines.

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Though the jet features a host of stealthy, radar-evading design elements lifted from Lockheed Martin’s fifth-gen F-35 multi-role Joint Strike Fighter (including the sensor-loaded nose section, trapezoid-shaped wings and dual tails), radar invisibility could prove to be a moot point if the jet’s fifth-gen cousins can spot its smokey engine burn-off trailing across the sky.

The jet is likely still in prototype stage and could see various changes — including to its engines — before rolling out en masse on Chinese tarmacs. If it’s anything like the American cousin it’s trying to copy, it could still be awhile before all bugs are worked out. (RELATED: China’s New Fifth-Generation Fighter Is Unsurprisingly Similar To The F-35)

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