China's Liaoning aircraft carrier completes test-landing of jets
J-15 fighters and crew on board Liaoning have completed more than 100 exercises in recent months
The People's Liberation Army had successfully conducted the first landing tests of the J-15 fighter jet on its sole aircraft carrier, Xinhua said yesterday.
The Chinese-made J-15 fighter landed on the Liaoning carrier, formerly known as the Varyag, during recent exercises, it said. The ship's crew had completed more than 100 tests and training exercises since the vessel was formally commissioned to the navy on September 25, it said.
China's first batch of carrier-based jet pilots and onboard flight commanders had grown familiar with technologies involved in the tests, Xinhua said. It was not clear how many jets were involved.
China Central Television aired a video clip showing the tail hook underneath a J-15 catching a cable on the carrier's deck as the jet landed, slowing the aircraft to a halt. Xinhua also released more than a dozen pictures of take-off and landing tests.
Mainland military websites said last week that the tests took place around Tuesday, during the vessel's 19-day sea trial that kicked off in waters in the northwestern Bohai Sea on November 11. Unlike its US counterparts, which use a catapult-assisted take-off system, the Liaoning carrier uses a flight deck with a curved incline to launch jets from the ship.
Take-offs and landings have been the most challenging and dangerous parts of the tests.
