From copies to contenders: How China’s Flanker-derived fighter jets are eclipsing Russia’s best
September 18, 2025
China’s rapid technological development is propelling it past Russia, the country on which its military aviation once depended. Not only is Beijing producing far more advanced 5th-generation fighters than Moscow, but its “Flanker” derivatives are now judged more capable than Russia’s latest Su-35s.
The rapidly changing face of Chinese military engineering
For decades, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) lagged behind its peers. During the Cold War, its inventory consisted largely of licensed copies of Soviet jets such as the J-6 (MiG-19) and J-7 (MiG-21). These were generally regarded as outdated and inferior.
Remarkably, China only retired its last J-7s in 2018, two decades after Russia phased out its MiG-21s. India held onto the type even longer, flying its final Fishbeds until 2025.
That picture is now unrecognisable. As these obsolete aircraft disappear, the PLAAF is inducting large numbers of modernised 4th-generation fighters such as the Chengdu J-10C, Shenyang J-11D, J-15T, and J-16, alongside two 5th-generation designs: the Chengdu J-20 “Mighty Dragon” and Shenyang J-35.
China’s final order for Russian fighter jets
Beijing’s dependence on Russian jets effectively ended with a 2015 order for 24 Sukhoi Su-35S fighters, delivered by 2019. By then, China’s own stealth programme had already leapfrogged ahead: the J-20 entered frontline service in 2017 and is now in full-rate production.
Although production numbers are opaque, analysts suggest China could be building more than 100 J-20s per year—making it the world’s highest-rate fifth-generation fighter. The newer carrier-capable J-35, comparable in configuration to the F-35, reportedly entered serial production in 2025.
Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57 Felon is touted as a 5th-generation fighter jet, but is not considered to be in the same class as the J-20 or the American F-35.
The jet is plagued by low production numbers and a reliance on advanced Western components. Recently reported documents show that Su-57s have been accepted into Russian service without some of their advertised capabilities due to a lack of Western parts.
China now has the most advanced Flankers
Perhaps even more telling is how China has overtaken Russia with its Flanker derivatives. Moscow’s Su-27/30/33/34/35 series remains the backbone of the Russian Aerospace Forces. In Chinese service, the family includes the J-11, twin-seat J-16, and carrier-borne J-15.
According to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), aircraft such as the J-11D and J-16 now outclass Russia’s Su-35. They field:
- Increased use of composites to save weight
- Active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars
- Longer-ranged and more effective PL-15 air-to-air missiles
- Modern datalinks and electronic warfare suites
Rusi noted China has developed an advanced indigenous combat aircraft, sensor, and weapons industry, “outstripping Russia’s.”
In contrast, as recently as 2020, many Russian Flankers still lacked AESA radars. The difference is starkly evident over Ukraine, where Russia has failed to achieve air superiority after years of war; something Israel achieved over Iran in days.
Issue of Chinese engines
One of the main sticking points for China has been developing advanced jet engines. Writing in 2020, Rusi noted that one area where Russia may still have an advantage is the higher-rated Saturn AL-41F turbofan engine.
This does appear to be changing as China invests heavily in developing engines for its fighter jets and other military aircraft. New Chinese fighter jets, like the J-20, are being built with Chinese engines.
Writing in late 2024, The War Zone noted China’s upgraded J-15T is fitted with domestically made WS-10 turbofans in place of Russian AL-31F engines that they were formerly fitted with.
The War Zone stated that many key types of Chinese fighter jets relying on Russian engines are now “a thing of the past,” adding that all the latest series-production J-10, J-11, J-16, and J-20 fighter jets are coming with Chinese engines.
Until then, the only exception had been the carrier-based J-15. There are suggestions that the Russian engine had been more resilient to saltwater compared with the Chinese one. That seems like history.
China is overtaking Russia technologically across the board
The tale of Chinese fighter jets superceding even the latest-variant Russian designs is repeated again and again. It holds true for aircraft carriers, missiles, and space programs.
For years, China was unable to build its own aircraft carriers. It purchased retired carriers from Australia and the incomplete Ukrainian Kuznetsov-class Varyag and then completed it as the Type 001 Liaoning. It then built its own improved copy from the ground up and then produced the modern supercarrier, the Type 003 Fujian. The Fujian is currently undergoing sea trials.
China is known to be working on its next-generation nuclear-powered carrier, while Russia has given up on retrofitting its old ‘cursed’ Kuznetsov-class carrier. The Russian news outlet, Izvestia, noted that even if Russia were to have a carrier, it doesn’t have next-generation fighter jets for it, and suggested China’s new next-generation J-35 fighter jet would be a solution.
For its space program, China developed the single-use Shenzhou space capsule based on the Soviet Soyuz capsule and improved on it. Now China is developing the next-generation multi-use Mengzhou space capsule, whose first uncrewed tet flight took place in 2020.
It should come as little surprise that China is outstripping Russia technologically. While Russia generally relies on Cold War-era Soviet designs upgraded with Western components, China benefits from having the largest manufacturing base in the world and an economy around ten times the size.
This doesn’t mean that China is ahead of Russia in all fields; Russia may still be ahead in submarine quieting technology, but the gap is increasingly becoming one where Russia trails China.
But even that may soon change as the Strategic Studies Institute reported in 2024 that Russia may transfer submarine quieting technology to China.
