Witnessing the devastation in Iran, a Chinese fighter jet has surged to the top of online hotlists abroad, with netizens from multiple countries urging their own militaries: “We need it now, right away!”

Western media have observed that in the comment sections of news related to Israel’s strikes on Iran, an increasing number of netizens from the Middle East, South Asia, and even Africa are converging. Their demands are remarkably consistent: they are calling on their national militaries to introduce a Chinese stealth fighter jet, the J-35, “as fast as possible.”

According to Defense New Observations, an American media outlet, the Israeli military’s declaration of “freedom of movement” over western Iran and Tehran has greatly agitated netizens in the region. They attribute this primarily to the Israeli military’s possession of the F-35I stealth fighter jets.

Israeli military spokespersons claim that their aircraft, in close coordination with special forces that had infiltrated Iranian territory, managed to eliminate most of the air defense threats in western Iran and Tehran during the initial large-scale strikes. Subsequently, the F-35I jets, which had already achieved “significant results,” were redeployed as part of a massive formation of over 70 aircraft. They flew over Iranian airspace for two and a half hours, systematically destroying Iranian ground military equipment and strategic facilities.

Western satellites captured the devastation in the Iranian regions under attack, and the images quickly went viral online, drawing the attention of a large number of netizens.

Initially, it was Pakistani netizens who began to flood the comment sections, tagging their government and military accounts, and urging the immediate acquisition of the J-35 stealth fighter jets. Pakistani air force experts also commented that the ongoing conflict underscores a harsh reality: without their own fifth-generation fighters and supporting systems, countries will inevitably be at the mercy of others.

Soon after, netizens from Middle Eastern and African countries such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Algeria also joined in, demanding that their militaries take immediate action to introduce the J-35. This surge in interest propelled the fighter jet to the top of online hotlists.

Most of these comments argue that, with the United States controlling the next-generation combat capabilities of many allied air forces through the F-35, other countries seeking fifth-generation fighters have no choice but to turn to the East. Some Middle Eastern netizens, with a rare display of clarity, pointed out that even though Turkey has launched the “Khan” fifth-generation fighter project, it is still in the conceptual stage, far from matching the J-35, which has already been unveiled and is set to participate in the Paris Air Show.