On December 26, 2024, images and footage potentially revealing China’s first sixth-generation aircraft began circulating online. The aircraft was accompanied by a twin-seater J-20S acting as a safety chase for the flight.
The aircraft appears to feature a flying wing design, notably lacking vertical tail surfaces. Its configuration is based on a large diamond-shaped wing, which could more accurately be described as a compound wing. The forward section resembles a delta wing with leading-edge root extensions stretching to the front of the aircraft, while the rear section transitions into a low-aspect-ratio diamond wing.
The most striking feature of the new aircraft is its size, which is noticeably larger than the accompanying J-20 chase plane.
Based on the photos, the aircraft appears to be approximately one and a half times the size of the J-20, suggesting an estimated length of around 30 meters and a wingspan of roughly 20 meters. For comparison, the J-20 measures 20.4 meters in length with a wingspan of 13.5 meters.
Chinese 6th Gen Fighter spotted flying under broad day light
— Fighterman_FFRC (@Fighterman_FFRC) December 26, 2024
This is the real deal, it's actually happening OMG‼️‼️‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/UYzWcazgLX
The sighting of the new aircraft comes days after renderings of a next-generation aircraft for China circulated online, and CAC closed its Chengfei Park from Dec. 12 to Dec. 31.
Some believe that this closure might be linked to this first flight – especially because the park offers a view to the company’s runway.
No, it's a sketch made by @钢铁机机 (Iron Eagle) on Weibo based on that suspicious & strange shape spotted at CAC shown in the first image even if the one shown in his work is a psed J-20 based on the second image. pic.twitter.com/W7eC3aUFet
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) December 21, 2024
In November 2024, the 6th generation stealth fighter called the AVIC Baidi Type-B (meaning White Emperor) was unveiled by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
AVIC represented the mockup at the Zhuhai airshow. It is unclear if this is the same fighter jet that has been filmed flying. There were also claims that it could operate from space, but analysts are skeptical about these claims.
The flight occurred at Chengdu Aircraft Corporation’s (CAC) headquarters in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China.
CAC is part of the AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) network and produces frontline fighters like the J-10 and J-20 for the PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force).
