US Pilot: Thanks To Espionage, Chinese Stealth Fighters Could Match The F-35

China is set to debut its new Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter at the Zhuihai international airshow next week. Although the fighter's exact specifications are unknown, it could be a match for the F-22 and the F-35, Dave Majumdar writes for USNI News citing several US military officials and pilots.

This sense of the capabilities of the J-31 are largely based on the successes China has had in industrial espionage against US targets.

"I think they’ll eventually be on par with our fifth-gen jets — as they should be, because industrial espionage is alive and well," an unnamed senior US fighter pilot familiar with the F-35, the US's fifth-generation stealth fighter, told USNI News.

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