Symbolic of Sixth-Gen Fighters, Chinese PLA Shows Ginkgo Leaf & Bird in New Year Video

A New Year video featuring a ginkgo leaf and a bird among other military equipment is "ambiguous tacit recognition" of two new fighter jets, a Chinese expert has said.

Chinese Military expert Zhang Junshe told Global Times today that the two new-type military aircraft, dubbed by the outside world as a sixth-generation fighter jet, have powerful stealth performance, high cruise speed and advanced avionics system, and is at the world's leading level.

This is the first time a mainstream Chinese media has commented on the "sixth generation" aircraft but fell just short of recognizing their existence.

Commenting on an earlier unattributed video showing close overflights by two different fighters—one resembling a ginkgo leaf and the other a bird— Zhang said that media on the island of Taiwan claimed they are metaphors for the PLA’s sixth-generation stealth fighter jets.

The ginkgo leaf, a Chinese cultural symbol, has been linked online to rumors of new fighter jets, reflecting public interest in China’s military progress. The ginkgo leaf’s association with peace likely symbolizes hopes that military advancements will ensure stability, balancing defense with diplomacy.

Related news: Chinese Sixth Generation Fighter Video a Hoax?

The video, released by the PLA Eastern Theater Command, combines scenes of troop readiness, military drills, and advanced weaponry, including the Type 076 amphibious assault ship. It also features images of a ginkgo leaf and a bird, which many netizens interpreted as representations of China’s experimental sixth-generation aircraft.

Zhang elaborated that one jet uses a delta-wing tailless design resembling a ginkgo leaf, while the other mimics the sleek profile of a bird. The Defense Times shared an image of a ginkgo leaf on December 26, accompanied by a cryptic caption: “Ginkgo has turned yellow. It really looks like a leaf.” This post further fueled online speculation about the PLA’s next-generation fighter programs.

The two new combat aircraft designs, unveiled on December 26, were attributed to the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) and the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) as part of China’s next-generation airpower initiative. The emergence of these designs coincides with founder of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Mao Zedong’s birth anniversary, reflecting deliberate timing by Beijing. Thirteen years ago, on the same day, the J-20 first broke cover.

The Chengdu design features a large frame with a diamond-delta wing configuration and three engines, suggesting a potential link to the shadowy JH-XX project, possibly a tactical regional bomber or fighter-bomber. The Shenyang design, smaller and twin-engine, exhibits a lambda-wing profile with prominent trailing-edge extensions, diverterless supersonic intakes, and a possible focus on agility and stealth. Both aircraft lack vertical or horizontal tail surfaces, a hallmark of low-observability designs.

China’s move toward tailless aircraft aims to improve stealth, reduce radar signatures, and enhance range and payload capacity. However, tailless configurations can affect stability, potentially mitigated by advanced flight controls and thrust-vectoring engines.