J-35A fighter (PLAAF) + FC-31 thread
- Thread starter ACuriousPLAFan
- Start date
The Emiratis aren't as cucked as the Qataris. Though like the al-Thanis, the al-Nahyans and al-Maktoums host thousands of American troops, which they recognize as a protective shield against their significantly larger regional frenemies. The Emiratis are not going to risk losing its American bodyguards for squadrons of J-35 fighters, at least not until a neighbor normalizes the "taboo" of ordering and operating Chinese stealth fighters first.
OTOH, the same cannot be said about a certain significantly larger neighbor of the UAE that : a state that now has no choice but to be responsible for its own security.
If a contract for the J-35 has been executed with a MENA government, then the buyer is Saudi Arabia. No ifs, conditionals or caveats.
No other state in the region — with the checkbook for inducting a 5th gen fighter at scale — has a stronger use case for the J-35 or even remotely comparable resources for telling Uncle Sam to politely "fuck off" than Saudi Arabia.
The Biden administration, and/or the Israel Lobby (depending on who you're talking to), made Riyadh's embrace of the J-35 inevitable by first , and then by in the aftermath of the regional chaos precipitated by the events of October 7, 2023, which finally convinced the formerly extremely pro-US House of Saud that rapprochement with Washington was simply no longer achievable.
KSA going for J-35 would be HUGE!
This would mean that they finally understand the consequences of having neutered western jets with no proper integrated ecosystem for a modern airforce.
EAF is a joke of an AF though. The procurement guys are the most stupid people on planet. They would just buy every plane on earth and live the nightmare of maintaining multiple plane types.
Big doubt about Saudi. Didn't they just sign big deal with US?
The original poster agreed to a commentor's question that this satellite imagery was taken at the Wuhu Airbase with the Wanghai Brigade.
If the claim is true, then this is also the first bridage with a J-20 + J-35A mix.
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Looks to be a new ground photo of the J-35A? Judging by the horizontal stabilizers and the front landing gear, I mean.
Those two are J-35s for the PLAN, not J-35As for the PLAAF. Notice the dual-wheel forward landing gears on them.