J-15 carrier fighter thread

[Miyayaya]

Hmm, will these J15B/J15Ts be permanently assigned to Liaoning/Shandong?

Wouldn't the extra weight from CATOBAR requirements be unideal for these STOBAR carriers?

Perhaps the trade-off is worth it over an additional model, plus being compatible with future carriers (including Fujian)

 

[Interstellar]

Do we know for a fact that the type's designation is J-15B?

Huitong's entry has been updated with references to J-15B removed; he now just refers to it as J-15T.

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

Hmm, will these J15B/J15Ts be permanently assigned to Liaoning/Shandong?

Wouldn't the extra weight from CATOBAR requirements be unideal for these STOBAR carriers?

Perhaps the trade-off is worth it over an additional model, plus being compatible with future carriers (including Fujian)

The benefits include cross-deck capability (i.e. the ability for any J-15B pilots to land on any PLAN carriers, regardless of STOBAR or CATOBAR), plus simplifying operation, maintenance & logistics (i.e. only having to deal with largely (and soon only) the J-15Bs and its variants across the entire PLAN CV fleet).

These two points are very significant for a navy that is looking to massively expand her naval aviation operations in the coming years and decades.

---

Just two cents from me: Once J-15B production kicks into high gear at Shenyang AC (hopefully within the next couple years as they are due for a massive expansion by mid-2026), all the J-15/As should be gradually retired from carrier-based operations and then be relegated to shore-based naval aviation training facilities at the PLA Naval Aviation University (PLANU).

Consequently, once that many J-15As enters the PLANU, the growth of China's carrier-based fighter pilot pool's training potential would be exponential.

 

[Gloire_bb]

Although J15B is expected to be at par if not more advance than J16 but the expectation of J35 entering service seemed to over-shadow J15B's service induction. Thus the impression of lack of enthusiasm from members here.

Given how long j-15 took to cook, that it is whole decade newer than j-16, and that it has very clear airframe retirements characteristic of much later sinoflanker airframe types - this is an understatement.

It is a very big thing, and given how j-15a was ... mildly speaking suboptimal as naval aircraft (being a t-10k spinoff ultimately), it is likely way more important than just electronics.

 

[daifo]

Hmm, will these J15B/J15Ts be permanently assigned to Liaoning/Shandong?

Wouldn't the extra weight from CATOBAR requirements be unideal for these STOBAR carriers?

Perhaps the trade-off is worth it over an additional model, plus being compatible with future carriers (including Fujian)

It is possible that STOBAR is not as terrible as people (mostly western catobar fans) would make it out to be for the A2A load out that typical J-15 sorties are flown at. There is also the single midship launch position that they can use to get larger weight like the A2A+Anti-ship load.

 

[tphuang]

I think J-15Bs and J-35s should naturally be able to operate off both Stobar and Catobar carriers. No reasons for them not to be like that.

It would be interesting to see how they operate them, but I would think that the original J-15s will slowly be relegated more for training roles over time. Especially if they really quickly ramp up J-35 production.

 

[gelgoog]

Just the new avionics and sensor package will provide a tremendous increase in mission effectiveness.
It would have been even better with more improvements to the airframe. They could have added the tail fuel tanks in the Su-35 to increase range or higher thrust engines to improve takeoff weight for example.

 

[asif iqbal]

The benefits include cross-deck capability (i.e. the ability for any J-15B pilots to land on any PLAN carriers, regardless of STOBAR or CATOBAR), plus simplifying operation, maintenance & logistics (i.e. only having to deal with largely (and soon only) the J-15Bs and its variants across the entire PLAN CV fleet).

These two points are very significant for a navy that is looking to massively expand her naval aviation operations in the coming years and decades.

---

Just two cents from me: Once J-15B production kicks into high gear at Shenyang AC (hopefully within the next couple years as they are due for a massive expansion by mid-2026), all the J-15/As should be gradually retired from carrier-based operations and then be relegated to shore-based naval aviation training facilities at the PLA Naval Aviation University (PLANU).

Consequently, once that many J-15As enters the PLANU, the growth of China's carrier-based fighter pilot pool's training potential would be exponential.

I don’t think it is within Chinese military doctrine to withdraw J15 which is a new aircraft to training role, that would be a huge waste

it will serve the PLAN for years if not decades to come

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

I don’t think it is within Chinese military doctrine to withdraw J15 which is a new aircraft to training role, that would be a huge waste

it will serve the PLAN for years if not decades to come

I didn't say that the PLAN will/should withdraw ALL J-15s - Only the J-15/As.

We've seen this one from yesterday, where nearly half of the J-15s in this photo are the newer J-15Bs.



Hence, it is reasonable to deduct that the J-15B is already under at least some degree of LRIP, if not proper serial production at Shenyang AC. Perhaps sooner rather than later, there will be enough J-15Bs available for deployment across all three current PLAN CVs.

The introduction of J-35s onto the PLAN CVs in the next few years also meant that the need for more units of the J-15 family will become smaller than before (since the number of fighter parking slots onboard CVs are fixed).

So yes, it is reasonable to gradually relegate the J-15/As for training duties on land.

Also, it doesn't really matter if those J-15/As are new-built - They are quite outdated compared to the J-15Bs and the US counterparts (i.e. F/A-18E/Fs) today, let alone having to face the 5th-gens (F-35), 6th-gens (F/A-XX, GCAP) and the system-vs-system aerial warfare in the coming years.

TL; DR - Without some serious MLU onto them (of which the money and efforts associated may be better spent towards building more J-15Bs), the J-15/As just aren't gonna cut it anymore.

 

[Gloire_bb]

TL; DR - Without some serious MLU onto them (of which the money and efforts associated may be better spent towards building more J-15Bs), the J-15/As just aren't gonna cut it anymore.

Plus, again drawing from su-33 experience (and j-15 based not on su-33 bit rather on its prototype), and given extensive use in Chinese service - they should be quite worn out by both flying from the deck and sea conditions. Most Flankers aren't exactly sturdiest airframes.

Revised J-15b should be a huge, huge step forward in those aspects.