China Unveils its F-35 Killer

Its would-be F-35 killer:

“It will strengthen our ability to compete for air supremacy with Japan and the U.S.,” he said, the Financial Times reported. “Sometimes, militaries need to reveal their fists.”

So far, reaction has been tepid.

“It looked good,” said one German military official who watched the J-31 fly, the news outlet said. “But the performance wasn’t very impressive. There weren’t a lot of high-G maneuvers. But then, I don’t think that was the point.”

The J-31 is powered by Russian engines, though AVIC’s goal is to replace those with Chinese-made ones eventually.

Russian engines suck, and China has spent the last 30 years trying and failing to make engines which suck less than Russia’s.

(Hat tip, Will Collier.)