Before the official announcement at the Zhucheng Air Show, there was no model named J-40 in the domestic aviation field. Not to mention public opinion, even insiders in the aviation field were unaware of J-40.
However, there still were some 'mysterious' news stories, such as reports from foreign media that China was secretly developing high-tech weapons, or a tornado generator.
This story became a hot topic abroad because the accompanying pictures showed a tornado in the northern mountainous area of the capital.
The news also included 'conspiracy theory' analysis, claiming 'M Country has been experiencing major tornado disasters in recent years, which might be the doing of Chinese experiments'.
Of course, upon closer consideration, such news was unreliable. Tornadoes have always existed in M Country, related to its geographical location and monsoons, and were not the result of any conspiracy.
It's not like China had a weather controller thousands of years ago.