Spectators take a selfie with some planes. [Photo by ZHANG WEI/CHINA DAILY]

Declassification

The official declassification finally came last week at the 12th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, commonly known as the Zhuhai Airshow, in the coastal city of Zhuhai, Guangdong province. The State-owned defense giant Aviation Industry Corporation of China sent a J-10B equipped with a thrust vector control nozzle to perform a series of gravity-defying aerobatic stunts at the air show's opening ceremony.

The J-10B performed "Pugachev's Cobra", a highly challenging maneuver that resembles the initial attack movement of a cobra. During the maneuver, a plane raises its nose to vertical level, or even slightly beyond, before dropping back down to horizontal flight. The maneuver allows a plane to evade chasing aircraft or missiles directly behind it, and then fly behind the pursuer to engage in a counterattack.

This and other extreme-agility maneuvers in the skies over Zhuhai were accompanied by applause and cheers from thousands of spectators, and were widely considered the most impressive moments at the six-day show, which concluded on Sunday.