The J-35A "Yunlong" has made its official debut, bearing a striking resemblance to the J-35 but with a distinct designation and unique capabilities. The Chinese Central Television military program has revealed the official designation of the J-35A fighter jet: Yunlong. This name joins the ranks of the J-20 Weilong and the J-16 Qianlong, forming what is now referred to as the new generation trio of China’s air force's premier combat aircraft.
Meanwhile, the naval variant of the J-35 has also received an official nickname—Lansha—continuing the tradition of naming carrier-based aircraft after sharks. The same airframe, designated Lansha by the navy and Yunlong by the air force, reflects a clear division of roles between the two services.
The primary mission of the naval Lansha is anti-ship strike. Carrier-based aircraft are tasked first and foremost with securing maritime dominance, with air superiority serving as an intermediate objective. Lansha can carry long-range, high-speed anti-ship missiles, leveraging its stealth characteristics to launch attacks at close range, making interception extremely difficult for adversaries. Currently, the U.S. Navy’s primary stealth carrier-based aircraft are paired with anti-ship missiles that either exceed size limits for internal carriage—necessitating external hardpoints that compromise stealth—or offer limited range and destructive power. In this regard, Lansha demonstrates a noticeable advantage.
In contrast, the air force’s Yunlong is designed primarily to support the J-20 in achieving air superiority, with ground attack missions serving as a secondary role. The air force already possesses more specialized and cost-effective platforms for ground attack, such as the Feibao and J-16, as well as operational stealth reconnaissance-strike drones. Assigning Yunlong to carry bombs internally for ground strikes would be less efficient than focusing it on eliminating airborne threats. The name Yunlong evokes imagery of a dragon soaring through clouds, symbolizing its role in clearing enemy air defenses.
Naturally, differing focus does not imply performance compromises. The J-35 series is fundamentally a dual-role, sea-air twin-platform system capable of serving as a stealth air-combat node or executing multi-mission strikes. Unlike other platforms that exhibit varying degrees of specialization, the J-35 is designed to adapt seamlessly across diverse operational environments and mission profiles. The naval Lansha specializes in hunting surface vessels, while the air force’s Yunlong focuses on air dominance—clearly defined roles that share a common technological foundation.
The public release of these official designations signifies that both the naval and air force variants of the J-35 family have now entered a mature phase of operational deployment.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1876909735778371/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.