China deploys upgraded J-15 fighters for aircraft carriers?

Several J-15B fighter jets were spotted in footage and images of a recent exercise involving a Chinese aircraft carrier.

The South China Morning Post reported on the evening of November 1 that several J-15B aircraft, an upgraded version of China's fourth-generation J-15 carrier-based fighter, were spotted in footage and images of naval exercises released on October 31.

Without specifying when the exercise took place, the Chinese navy said it marked the first time its two aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, had participated in a joint exercise at sea.

Footage released by China of aircraft carrier training, apparently involving J-15B fighter jets for the first time

Along with an escort fleet, the two aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong were escorted by at least 32 J-15 aircraft.

Andreas Rupprecht, a China military aviation analyst in Germany, said that at least nine of the 12 fighter jets in the air in the images were J-15Bs.

“I have to admit that I am still very excited to see the [J-15B] finally enter service and I look forward to seeing better images of it,” said Rupprecht.

However, Mr. Rupprecht said that "it seems that the J-15B still uses the old AL-31F engine," instead of the domestic WS-10 engine, which is said to have been tested, according to the South China Morning Post . There is currently no information about the Chinese navy's reaction to Mr. Rupprecht's comments.

At least nine of the fighter jets participating in China's recent naval exercises are believed to be J-15Bs.

Earlier, Nikkei Asia reported on July 8 that China is developing a new stealth fighter to be deployed on aircraft carriers. This will be a fifth-generation stealth fighter and is expected to be deployed on China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian.

China's Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) released a video of SAC's latest stealth aircraft, the J-31B, to the public in late June, with the words "from land base to sea base." A Japanese source said the J-31B is built to operate from aircraft carriers, according to Nikkei Asia .

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-quoc-trien-khai-chien-dau-co-j-15-nang-cap-cho-tau-san-bay-185241102091140288.htm