Keywords: Carrier, J-15, landing, take off

J-15 carrier landings prove great leap for Chinese navy

China's home-made fighters successfully completed takeoffs and landings on November 25 on the Liaoning, the country's first aircraft carrier, the Xinhua News Agencies reported.

At least two Shenyang J-15 fighters, China's first generation multi-purpose carrier-borne fighter, took off and landed on the flight-deck of the Liaoning, which was commissioned to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy two months ago, the report said.

According to the PLA's official website, a total of five fighter pilots successfully accomplished the missions, after receiving special low-visibility, crosswind and turbulent environment training.

Chinese media hailed the takeoffs and landings as a milestone in Chinese carrier development, believing the success will improve the comprehensive fighting power of the Chinese navy.

Military affairs CCTV commentators Li Li and Du Wenlong praised the training speed of the ship-borne jets, saying that China had already achieved a feat some western experts predicted would take China five to 10 years to accomplish.

"Aircraft carriers, jets and pilots are the three key components of a carrier group. This success proves that China has made a breakthrough in every respect," Du added.

Hong Kong-based paper Wen Wei Po published an article saying that the Liaoning operations serve as an impressive display for neighboring countries currently in territorial disputes with China.

"These operations aid our country in safeguarding its maritime and national interests, while also help maintain stability in the region. The Chinese navy has conducted rescue missions and anti-piracy campaigns in the past, but with an aircraft carrier, China can contribute more," read the article.

Ministry of National Defense official Zhou Yong railed against Western media for accusations that the J-15’s design was taken from other countries.

"It is ridiculous to say that J-15 is a copy of foreign designs. Anyone who understands military affairs knows that China holds the patent rights for the J-15," wrote Zhou in an opinion piece in People's Daily (overseas edition).

"Some big countries prevent the sharing of military technology with China. Therefore, we can only depend on ourselves to develop China's military science and technology," Zhou added.

Naval expert Zhang Junshe wrote in the Liberation Army Daily that the first landing and takeoff opened a new chapter for the country's carrier development.

However, Zhang feels the Chinese navy still needs a few more years to fully train the carrier group. "The training of pilots is a huge project. We still need four or five years to realize our true fighting capacity," Zhang said.