New Delhi: Fifteen years after it was revealed that Chinese hackers were able to hack and steal top US defense designs, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has unveiled its new stealth fighter jet – the J-35A – earlier this week.

What immediately catches everyone’s attention are the striking similarities that the Chinese plane has with the American F-35 fighter jet.

The Equipment Department of the PLA Air Force announced that the J-35A will be part of the air show.

The J-35A is a medium-sized multirole stealth fighter. According to Chinese media, there are two versions of the plane – one designed for the air force and another for deployment on aircraft carriers.

Although there has been no official announcement from the PLAAF regarding the fighter jet’s induction into service, according to Chinese state tabloid Global TimesPLAAF’s “J-35A announcement” can be interpreted as confirmation of its entry into service.”

In China, the fighter jet is seen as complementary to the J-20 stealth fighter jets, which are already operational with China, as are the United States’ F-22 and F-35.

The Global Times quoted an expert as saying that the J-35A has multiple advantages in terms of “first detection, first strike”, in addition to “ensuring operational advantages”, and compared to the previous generation of aircraft operated by China.

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J-35A vs F-35

The J-35A is compared to the F-35 Lightning II, developed by the American Lockheed Martin, due to the uncanny similarities in design.

The F-35 family includes three variants: F-35A (conventional takeoff and landing), F-35B (short takeoff/vertical landing), and F-35C (carrier).

The fifth-generation multi-role F-35 is capable of maintaining air dominance and is equipped with Very Low Observable Stealth, advanced sensors, information fusion and network connectivity. It is a single-engine, single-seat, long-range supersonic fighter jet.

However, unlike the F-35, the J-35A is a twin-engine fighter.

Another difference is that while the F-35 was designed for the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) version, the Chinese fighter does not have this capability. In fact, the Chinese plane appears to be “sleeker and slimmer than the F-35.”

The DSI sockets, canopy and basic configuration are similar, according War zone.

Highlighting other key differences between the two planes, it reported that while there were claims that China copied America’s design or stole data to help develop the aircraft, this did not mean the plane was “copied”. The portal added that China could not have “copied” the F-35 as it was “one of the most complex machines in the world”.

Theft of F-35 design data

The US has faced the theft of sensitive design data by hackers targeting programs such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Theft by cyber intrusion was reported in 2009.

Defense Acquisition chief Frank Kendall told a Senate hearing in 2013 that he was “reasonably” confident that the F-35’s classified information was secure, but “not everyone is confident” in the unclassified information. He also said that “the edge in design and production has been relinquished to competing powers.”

His remarks came after the Pentagon said in its annual China report that Beijing was using cyber espionage to further its military modernization program.

It was also the first time, according to the report, that “cyber intrusions into US government computer systems appeared to be directly attributable to the Chinese government and military.”

In 2014, a Los Angeles grand jury indicted a Chinese national named Su Bin, who was in Canada, for his involvement in a cyber espionage schemeallegedly perpetrated by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) hackers.

Bin was a businessman who owned Lode Tech, specializing in aviation and aerospace products. Bin established close contacts in the global defense industry community, seeking information on “protected technology and possibly unrestricted access to company files.”

Between 2008 and 2014, Bin helped two PLA hackers steal more than 630,000 files related to the C-17 cargo aircraft, as well as data related to the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets. It is also said to have helped hackers target specific companies, people and technologies and helped them translate the data obtained.

(Edited by Mannat Chugh)

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