By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-01 14:06:56 | Updated at 2024-11-01 16:31:01
2 hours ago
A more powerful and advanced version of a Chinese ship-based jet fighter seems to be in service, appearing in official footage of aircraft carrier drills, according to a military analyst.
Without specifying when the exercises took place, the People’s Liberation Army Navy said the drills were the first time two of the country’s aircraft carriers – the Liaoning and the Shandong – had been involved in a joint exercise on the high seas.
Along with an escort fleet, the carriers were accompanied by at least 32 J-15s, China’s carrier-based fighters.
Andreas Rupprecht, a Germany-based China military aviation analyst, said that at least nine of the 12 airborne fighters in the images were J-15Bs.
“I must admit I’m still more than excited to see the [J-15Bs] finally in service and I cannot wait to see better images of it,” Rupprecht said.
“But there is one downside. It seems that the J-15Bs still use the old AL-31F [engines],” he said, rather than the domestically produced WS-10 turbofans, which have reportedly been tested.
