China’s New Stealth Aircraft Emerges: An Analysis for Shocknaue Entertainment News
Boxing Day, December 26, 2024, delivered an unexpected reveal in the world of military aviation, capturing significant attention and sparking discussion – even within domains far removed from typical defense analysis. Pictures and video surfaced showing a never-before-seen Chinese Stealth Fighter Aircraft, featuring a unique three-engine configuration, a distinctive diamond planform, and lacking a tail. Veteran aviation journalist and stealth technology expert Bill Sweetman provided insights into what is currently known about this mysterious new design.
A newly revealed Chinese stealth aircraft (foreground), code-named ‘Boxer’, is seen flying alongside a twin-seat CAC J-20S stealth fighter during its maiden flight. (Image via Chinese internet)
Fourteen years prior, Western aerospace experts were met with another significant reveal from China on the same day: the debut of the country’s first stealth aircraft, the J-20, overseen by Yang Wei, head of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group design team. Now, he appears to have done it again with a stealthy, supercruising aircraft described as a medium bomber, potentially developed as a countermeasure to aircraft like the B-21.
Double Surprise in Chinese Stealth Aviation
New stealth aircraft from both Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (left) and Shenyang Aircraft (right) were revealed on December 26, 2024, shown flying openly in daylight. (Images via Chinese internet)
Reports had long suggested that China’s aviation industry was working on a larger stealth platform, sometimes referred to as JH-XX or H-XX. While previous rumors of impending reveals had led to disappointment, this time the speculation proved accurate.
The first images confirmed the maiden flight of Chengdu’s new aircraft, accompanied by a twin-seat J-20S stealth fighter, providing a sense of scale. The newcomer is clearly large, crewed, designed for supersonic flight, and incorporates stealth features. It boasts a blended double-delta shape, lacks a vertical stabilizer, and, remarkably, is powered by three engines. Two engines have conventional underwing caret inlets, while the third uses a dorsal intake.
Shortly after, details emerged of another stealth design, an apparently unmanned, smaller demonstrator from Shenyang, a sister company to Chengdu. Some of these pictures were dated from a week earlier, suggesting this reveal might have been an internally managed event rather than a public maiden flight like the Chengdu aircraft. For the moment, focus remains heavily on Chengdu’s new design. As of December 26, the aircraft is unnamed (though ‘J-36’ has been mentioned by one source), but given the date, its potential mission, and historical context, Sweetman has assigned it the reporting name ‘Boxer’.
Labeling ‘Boxer’ as a “sixth-generation aircraft” could be misleading. The term ‘generations’ is often debated and inconsistently applied, and classifying Boxer as a fighter or an analogue to programs like the US Next Generation Air Dominance overlooks its unique design and probable mission, which does not appear to be a direct replacement for any current People’s Liberation Army – Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft.
It’s also unlikely that a direct competition exists between Chengdu and Shenyang with these designs. The Shenyang vehicle appears significantly smaller. Boxer, on the other hand, looks analogous to the initial J-20 prototype: a full-size development aircraft intended to lead to a low-rate production batch, rather than a minimal technology demonstrator. This approach proved successful for both the J-20 and aircraft based on Shenyang’s FC-31 program, contributing to China’s growing capabilities in Chinese Stealth Fighter Aircraft and other advanced platforms. Looking at the broader landscape of advanced military aviation, comparisons can be made to [10 best multi role fighter aircraft in the world] and the [latest fighter aircraft in the world] to understand the context of Boxer’s capabilities and potential impact. Discussions about [china 6th generation fighter aircraft] concepts also provide a framework for evaluating Boxer’s technological level and future role.
Unpacking the Mystery of the ‘Boxer’
A side view of the new Chinese ‘Boxer’ stealth aircraft, highlighting its unique upper and side air intakes and dual main landing gear. (Image via Chinese internet)
With these initial observations in mind, we can delve into some of Boxer’s specific features.
China’s military forces and their equipment are primarily aimed at establishing regional dominance. From their perspective, the primary challenge comes from US-led air power, including the USAF, the Navy’s carrier groups, and support from allies like Japan, Korea, and Australia.
Boxer’s standout characteristics are stealth, speed, range, and weapon payload capacity. The J-20 excels in stealth and speed, and offers better range than many other fighters, but it was designed mainly for air-to-air engagements, targeting high-value assets like airborne early warning aircraft or electronic warfare platforms, with weapon bays sized accordingly for missiles.
Boxer is a considerably larger aircraft. Estimates place its length around 75ft, significantly longer and much broader than the J-20. The blended double-delta wing reportedly spans 63ft with over 2,000 square feet of gross area (these figures are preliminary). As noted in analysis of designs like the Global Combat Aircraft Program’s Tempest, large delta wings can hold substantial amounts of fuel, freeing up internal fuselage space for weapons.
Other indicators of Boxer’s substantial size include its tandem-wheel main landing gear, a feature rarely seen on military aircraft weighing under 100,000lb, and a large, bomber-sized weapon bay estimated to be 25ft long and over 7ft wide. Additionally, it appears to have two side bays likely intended for defensive air-to-air missiles or anti-radiation missiles.
It wouldn’t be surprising if a fully loaded Boxer reaches or slightly exceeds 120,000lb take-off weight. At this weight, the wing loading is a moderate 60 pounds/sq ft, comparable to the Saab Draken, which shares some planform similarities and side inlet placement. A clean fuel fraction above 0.4 seems achievable.
Sweep angles and inlet designs suggest a maximum Mach number around 1.8, similar to the F-22 Raptor. Its supercruise capability will depend heavily on non-afterburning thrust performance.
Boxer’s stealth shaping shares similarities with the J-20, utilizing canted plane surfaces. It incorporates six planform-edge alignments. While it may not represent ‘extreme low observables’ unless China has achieved breakthroughs in materials (which cannot be ruled out), such extreme stealth might be less critical for a stand-off, supersonic aircraft.
A key divergence from previous supersonic designs is the absence of vertical tail surfaces. This feature extends all-aspect stealth capabilities into the high-speed flight regime. The aircraft appears to have five control segments on the trailing edge of each wing. At least the two outer elements of these segments are split, functioning as both speed brakes and rudders. During the first flight footage, these surfaces seemed to be wide open, a position maximizing their authority. However, in stealth mode, similar to the B-2 and B-21 bombers, these surfaces must remain closed, with directional control likely provided by alternative means. Northrop Grumman uses differential thrust on the B-2 and likely the B-21. Boxer might employ a similar technique, potentially linked to its unique propulsion system.
The Three-Engined Mystery
This image clearly shows the configuration of the three engines on the new Chinese ‘Boxer’ stealth aircraft. (Image via Chinese internet)
The most perplexing feature is the three-engine layout. Such complexity, including a completely different intake design for the central engine and varying aerodynamic conditions, must be justified by a significant benefit. The simplest explanation might be a lack of sufficiently powerful existing Chinese engines for a twin-engine design of this size, but this doesn’t fully explain the drastic impact on the aircraft’s shape.
The single image of Boxer on the ground reveals three large-diameter exhausts positioned just ahead of the trailing edge. Other images appear to show movable trailing-edge segments behind the exhausts, suggesting some degree of thrust vectoring capability.
However, utilizing full afterburning thrust with these engines would almost certainly introduce challenging thermal issues, reminiscent of problems encountered with the trench exhausts on the YF-23 prototype.
How might thrust supply and demand be managed across a wide subsonic and supersonic flight envelope? It’s plausible that the Boxer’s designers intend to use the central engine primarily for high-thrust phases like take-off, initial climb, and potentially supercruise. This would leave the two symmetrically positioned outer engines free to provide differential thrust and vectoring for stealthy flight control.
Adding further complexity (and potential logistical headaches), there’s no physical constraint requiring the central engine to be identical to the outer ones. It could feature a lower bypass ratio and overall pressure ratio – akin to a large Eurojet EJ200 – offering better performance specifically in supercruise. This approach could provide some benefits of variable-cycle propulsion without the associated complexity and risk. Three engines in the 22,000 lbs thrust class, with afterburning boost used for take-off and transonic acceleration, should provide adequate power for this large chinese stealth fighter aircraft / bomber concept.
Supercruising Strike Capability
The new Chinese ‘Boxer’ stealth aircraft features a large weapon bay, indicative of bomber-sized payload capacity. (Image via Chinese internet)
What does this combination of features imply operationally? As noted, countering adversary air power is a primary objective. While Boxer can carry air-to-air missiles, its large main weapons bay is designed for bigger payloads targeting substantial assets like aircraft carriers and air bases. Alternatively, Boxer could potentially launch swarms of loitering munitions against air bases, including those further afield hosting long-range aircraft like the B-21.
This highlights an advantage of supercruise and a limitation of subsonic bombers like the B-21. A supercruising aircraft operating over long ranges can achieve significantly higher sortie rates than a slower, subsonic platform. Conversely, if a relatively slow bomber is forced to operate from more distant bases due to the threat of air attacks, its sortie rate decreases substantially, requiring more tanker support. Furthermore, if the adversary fields large supercruisers with air-to-air weapons, these tankers themselves become vulnerable, even hundreds or thousands of miles from adversary territory. Analyzing the potential costs associated with developing and operating such advanced aircraft provides valuable context, though direct comparisons are complex, especially when considering [fighter aircraft cost comparison] across different generations and roles. The rapid development shown by China also makes discussions about the [indian air force future fighter aircraft] and other regional powers’ plans particularly relevant in assessing the shifting balance of power.
What about timing? The initial J-20 prototype first appeared in December 2010, with pre-production aircraft following around 2014. If ‘Boxer’ follows a similar development path, it could potentially be nearing production by the end of this decade. This revelation signals a significant step forward in China’s military aviation capabilities, adding a powerful new dimension to their strategic options beyond their existing fleet of chinese stealth fighter aircraft.
