J-36 features ‘interesting cockpit layout’ and is ‘cooler than most Hollywood advanced aircraft’, analysts say
The photo, the first to show the aircraft on the ground, shows the jet parked on a tarmac at what appears to be Chengdu Aircraft Corporation’s main plant in Sichuan province. The background matches the facility from which the J-36 has been seen departing multiple times over the past six months.
A week earlier, a high-definition photo of the J-36 in test flight surfaced online. The image, which appears to have been taken with a DSLR camera, offers the clearest airborne view of the fighter to date.
Peter Layton, a retired Australian air force officer and visiting fellow at Brisbane’s Griffith Asia Institute, said the latest image confirmed the J-36’s three weapons bays – one large and two smaller – and the dorsal intake for the third engine.
He added that the third engine was “probably the same as the other two rather than some exotic engine such as ramjet”.
