While many dispute Beijing’s claims, on paper the FC-31 seems to be a fairly decent equivalent to the F-35. China intends to replace an aging fleet of J-10 and J-11 warplanes with the FC-31.

China’s Shenyang FC-31 Gyrfalcon (also known as the Jian31 or J-31) has been described on more than one occasion as being a copy of the United States military’s Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

China is signaling a major leap in its naval aviation capabilities with new images and state-run media footage suggesting its J-35 stealth fighter has entered low-rate initial production. -The carrier ...