I remember someone posting that the ideal carrier air wing for Fujian would be 2 squadrons of J-15T, 2 of J-35, 1 of J-15DT, 1 of KJ-600 and one of Z-20
CV-18 Fujian/003 CATOBAR carrier thread
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
Too many DT and KJ-600 this way, and not enough helicopters (you need both ASW and SAR/utility birds).
Drones, too.
My guesstimate for a "standard" PLAN CV(N) airwing in 2030s:
2 x J-35 sqn (10-12 a/c each)
1 or 2 x J-15T (10-12 a/c each)
4-5 J-15 DT
4-5 KJ-600
~20 GJ-21
~6 WZ-10J
~6 ASW Z-18 or Z20F
2 x Z-9S SAR
May need to drop some manned fighters (probably J-15T) to accommodate GJ-21 but GJ-21 is the main striking strength of the CV so I expect a fair few to be carried.
2 x J-35 sqn (10-12 a/c each)
1 or 2 x J-15T (10-12 a/c each)
4-5 J-15 DT
4-5 KJ-600
~20 GJ-21
~6 WZ-10J
~6 ASW Z-18 or Z20F
2 x Z-9S SAR
May need to drop some manned fighters (probably J-15T) to accommodate GJ-21 but GJ-21 is the main striking strength of the CV so I expect a fair few to be carried.
To confirm the aircraft total weight of 31 metric tonnes, with the pilot and lunch control officers.
lcloo
Major
Use of "Squadron" can be misleading in determining the number of aircraft in a PLAAF/PLAN Aviation unit. There is no "squadron" in all branches of PLA as in Western numerical sense.
The correct unit should be "dadui" 大队, which normally consist of 8 to 9 aircraft.
General translaton of Squadron in Western airforces (12 to 24 aircraft) in Chinese term is zhongdui 中队 which in PLAAF may consist of only 3 or 4 aircraft. That is a big difference in the number of aircraft.
中国空军的编制体系相当有条理，这体现了其在组织结构上的严谨与高效。通常情况下，一个空军师由三个飞行团构成，每个飞行团再细分为三个飞行大队，而每一个飞行大队又包含三个飞行中队。这样，从师到中队，形成了一个层级分明的组织架构。
具体到作战单位，中国空军的飞行中队配备有三架作战飞机。这意味着，一个飞行大队拥有九架作战飞机，而一个飞行团则拥有二十七架到三十架作战飞机。进一步推算，一个空军师的作战飞机数量则可以达到超过八十个。
The organization of the Chinese Air Force is quite orderly, reflecting its rigor and efficiency in structure. Generally, an air force division consists of 3 regiments 团, each of which is further divided into 3 dadui 大队, and each dadui contains 3 zhongdui 中队. This forms a clearly defined hierarchical structure from division to zhongdui 中队.
Specifically for combat units, a zhongdui 中队 of the Chinese Air Force is equipped with 3 combat aircraft. This means that a flying dadui大队 has 9 combat aircraft, while a regiment has between 27 to 30 combat aircraft. Further calculations indicate that the number of combat aircraft in an air force division can exceed 80.
The correct unit should be "dadui" 大队, which normally consist of 8 to 9 aircraft.
General translaton of Squadron in Western airforces (12 to 24 aircraft) in Chinese term is zhongdui 中队 which in PLAAF may consist of only 3 or 4 aircraft. That is a big difference in the number of aircraft.
中国空军的编制体系相当有条理，这体现了其在组织结构上的严谨与高效。通常情况下，一个空军师由三个飞行团构成，每个飞行团再细分为三个飞行大队，而每一个飞行大队又包含三个飞行中队。这样，从师到中队，形成了一个层级分明的组织架构。
具体到作战单位，中国空军的飞行中队配备有三架作战飞机。这意味着，一个飞行大队拥有九架作战飞机，而一个飞行团则拥有二十七架到三十架作战飞机。进一步推算，一个空军师的作战飞机数量则可以达到超过八十个。
The organization of the Chinese Air Force is quite orderly, reflecting its rigor and efficiency in structure. Generally, an air force division consists of 3 regiments 团, each of which is further divided into 3 dadui 大队, and each dadui contains 3 zhongdui 中队. This forms a clearly defined hierarchical structure from division to zhongdui 中队.
Specifically for combat units, a zhongdui 中队 of the Chinese Air Force is equipped with 3 combat aircraft. This means that a flying dadui大队 has 9 combat aircraft, while a regiment has between 27 to 30 combat aircraft. Further calculations indicate that the number of combat aircraft in an air force division can exceed 80.
Su-34 MTOW is 45t
Su-35 MTOW is only 34.5t despite having higher thrust engines and similar wing area as the Su-34
J-15 MTOW is only ~33t despite having larger wing area and similar thrust engines as the Su-34
So the MTOW for J-15 (as well as Su-35) is far from hitting any physical limitations imposed by its engines and wings. The smaller J-35 having MTOW similar to the J-15 just means the J-35 has possible configurations that allow it to reach such weight.
Su-35 MTOW is only 34.5t despite having higher thrust engines and similar wing area as the Su-34
J-15 MTOW is only ~33t despite having larger wing area and similar thrust engines as the Su-34
So the MTOW for J-15 (as well as Su-35) is far from hitting any physical limitations imposed by its engines and wings. The smaller J-35 having MTOW similar to the J-15 just means the J-35 has possible configurations that allow it to reach such weight.
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Don't forget about L-10/15. Those will also likely be on the Fujian.
F-35C Length: 51.5 ft (15.7 m) Wingspan: 43 ft (13.1 m)
J-35 Length: 58.4 ft (17.8 m) Wingspan: 44.3 ft (13.5 m)
No idea. Am honestly perplexed.
But I am going to venture a guess based on what i saw from all the clips but then again, the clips are spliced together and maybe they are testing / trialing different methods
First for context (from US carrier)
In this video of weight board operator onboard the US carrier, he shows the weight to the pilot, adjusts some numbers (presumably the weight) and runs to the shooter to show the numbers
Above quoted screenshots for J35:
- #3505 & #3506 J35 pilots were shown "-13" on the white panel on the display
- The weight operator shows his panel number 05100 to the shooter
- Note that this board has some wire sticking out which I assume it is wireless comms
In this screenshot for KJ-600:
- "0" was shown to the KJ-600 pilots; it actually reads "human input: 0 deg"
What I guess is this:
- The "-13" is perhaps a weight / input measure; perhaps it is indicating it is -13 tons(?) below the max limit of the catapult?
- The "05100" might be the ID for the weight board (that thing carried by the weight operator) to ID the weight being transmitted wirelessly to the shooter
- Weight confirmation is being transmitted wirelessly to the shooter vs having the shooter to physically sight and record down the weight and adjust the strength of the catapult
That said, I can't explain "human input: 0 deg" for the KJ-600 or the differences in the display between the one used for KJ600 and J35 launch....maybe "human input: 0 deg" means zero input ie to be shot at max load of the catapult
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Screenshot 2025-09-24 141335.jpg
My guess is that the Human input xyz Deg is the amount of rear elevator angle thats supposed to be pre programmed for the launch sequence in accordance to the plane's natural lift (CoG, CoL) and the current weight.
0 Deg for the large winged KJ-600, and 13 degree for the relatively smaller winged J-35.
