A J-6 III fighter

China’s first homegrown fighter aircraft, the J-6 III fighter, was produced in a mysterious cave in remote Guizhou province in the southwest of the country, a WeChat public account of CCTV financial channel reported.

The highly confidential manufacturing site was made public for the very first time in 60 years.

The cave where the first J-6 III fighter took off marked the humble beginning of China’s military industrial manufacturing. A modern manufacturing factory has now been built by Guizhou Aviation Industry Group, independently developing in-house aircraft and export versions.

Rumors that China will never produce its own fighters as a result of low-level technology have since been debunked. With two generations of efforts, the great power has stepped up to the advanced world level in aviation industry, showing the international community its strength in industrial development, research and manufacturing.