J-35A fighter (PLAAF) + FC-31

[ChineseToTheBone]

Selling to any Arab country for the foreseeable future is just like handing a few units over to the Americans for evaluation, imo. Except Egypt.

UAE supposedly bankrolled a large portion of the development for the initial FC-31 project by Shenyang according to Yankee.

If their government specifically does ever want to finalize purchases down the line, rejecting that outright will likely make for contractual headaches at the very least and could reduce the credibility of how the region views all Chinese military arms deals in the future.

 

[antiterror13]

No Gulf Arab will ever buy Chinese fighters, let alone stealth fighters. US would literally Bomb them to bits before they let that happen. Especially under Trump, who is unhinged about allies being disloyal.

The only ones who can buy J-35 will be Pakistan. Iran could buy it if China sells it to them, but China will likely not sell J-35 to Iran.

Actually the best candidate for buying J-35 is Turkey. They have the power to withstand the pressure, like they did for S-400. But I don't think China will sell their weapons to Turkey due to Turkish support for Uyghurs.

My prediction is that China will not sell J-35 to anyone except Pakistan for the next 10-15 years. If the global geopolitics changes significantly in the direction of China and more US allies fall into the China camp, then it might happen. But otherwize J-35 will remain unexported to others.

I think Indonesia is a possibility. Australia operating 72 F-35 already and have 6 E‑7A AWACS.

So there is a possibility that Indonesia purchase J-35 and KJ-500 AWACS .. Indonesia has always suspicious of Australia that keep supporting separatist in Indonesia. In fact Indonesia is the biggest threat to Australia .. and Australia is the biggest threat to Indonesia

And don't rule out Malaysia and Thailand too

 

[Proteus]

I think Indonesia is a possibility. Australia operating 72 F-35 already and have 6 E‑7A AWACS.

So there is a possibility that Indonesia purchase J-35 and KJ-500 AWACS .. Indonesia has always suspicious of Australia that keep supporting separatist in Indonesia. In fact Indonesia is the biggest threat to Australia .. and Australia is the biggest threat to Indonesia

And don't rule out Malaysia and Thailand too

Indonesia is a joke, look at their equipments, like a mess, they not actually have plan in procurements, they have bad history in cooperate with other countries in defense industry.

 

[tamsen_ikard]

I think Indonesia is a possibility. Australia operating 72 F-35 already and have 6 E‑7A AWACS.

So there is a possibility that Indonesia purchase J-35 and KJ-500 AWACS .. Indonesia has always suspicious of Australia that keep supporting separatist in Indonesia. In fact Indonesia is the biggest threat to Australia .. and Australia is the biggest threat to Indonesia

And don't rule out Malaysia and Thailand too

Indonesia needs to buy atleast Jf-17 or J-10 before they can even dream about J-35. They are too far down the pecking order. China doesn't trust Indonesia that much either due to all the western influence. There is also the Natuna sea issue and overall anti-China hostility in Indonesia. Overall, I don't think China will sell their prime fighter J-35 to Indonesia without serious changes in Indonesian foreign policy. They need to be essentially in the permanent China camp before this happens.

Finally, Indonesia lacks the will to be a military power. Indonesia does have the money but I don't think they have the strategic vision.

 

[sutton999]

Brazil doesn't have a need for such an aircraft though. They don't need stealth fighters. Most Latin American militaries aren't of high "quality", and Brazil already has the the best military in Latin America qualitatively speaking by far. Even some J-10CEs would comfortably be a more advanced and powerful aircraft than anything any other Latin American AF possesses.

What if the Marine helicopter capatures that bald Brazilian judge?

 

[doggydogdo]

I kind of doubt China would sell J-35As to UAE especially considering their recent behavior. It's going to piss off everyone in the region like Iran, Qatar, Saudia Arabia, Sudan and Somalia. UAE is also major non-NATO ally with massive US military bases

 

[lcloo]

It is unlikely for Indonesia to buy J35/35A because they are still commited to KAI KF-21 from Korea. Their recent agreement to resume payment to Korea for project development costs indicate that they are still interested in KF-21 block II and Block III.

I know Wikipedia is not reliable when it concerns China, but their articles on Indonesia can be quite objective and the same news were reported by various Korean and a Malaysian news paper, and also by Reuters in June 2025.

"On 10 June 2025, South Korea and Indonesia finalized an agreement that revised Indonesia's financial contribution to the KF-21 project. Out of the total project cost of 8.1 trillion won (approximately $5.9 billion), the updated contract reduces Indonesia's share from 1.6 trillion won (approximately $1.168 billion, or 20% of the total) to 600 billion won (approximately $438 million, or 7.4%). The agreement reaffirmed Indonesia’s planned purchase of 48 aircraft and the continued participation of

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in their production.

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In January 2026,

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reported that Indonesia is interested in purchasing sixteen KF-21 Block II and Block III potentially."

 

[Squadson]

Previously, we heard that the J-35A would have six external hardpoints. However, as Huitong mentioned on the China Military Aviation blog, recent images of factory-fresh production aircraft suggest that the J-35A may have only four external hardpoints, while the J-35 retains six.

If this is true, could anyone please clarify whether there is a specific reason for reducing the external missile payload capacity on the J-35A?

 

[Gloire_bb]

Per this thread, it appears J-35 won't be sold to anyone period. What's the point then. You either create security networks, or you don't. They won't appear by themselves.
China doesn't have NATO level alliances, and they won't appear out of thin air.

 

[qwerty3173]

Previously, we heard that the J-35A would have six external hardpoints. However, as Huitong mentioned on the China Military Aviation blog, recent images of factory-fresh production aircraft suggest that the J-35A may have only four external hardpoints, while the J-35 retains six.

If this is true, could anyone please clarify whether there is a specific reason for reducing the external missile payload capacity on the J-35A?

For starters, the smaller wings of the J35A can't be good on the number of hardpoints. It's likely that calculations show more than 4 hardpoints on J35A damages the airflow too much to fly efficiently.