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China's military weapons
ChinaDiplomacy

China military’s new Shandong aircraft carrier set to have smaller fighter jet force than expected

  • CCTV footage indicates that the vessel might have just 24 J-15s on board rather than the 36 previously expected
  • The carrier also needs more time to get up to minimum operational speed, observers say

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The J-15 is the heaviest active carrier-based fighter jet in the world. Photo: AFP
Minnie Chan
China’s new aircraft carrier, the Shandong, will have fewer fighter jets on board than expected and needs more time to hone its operations to meet minimum deployment standards, according to military observers.

About 30 carrier-based fighter jet pilots were present on Tuesday when President Xi Jinping commissioned the Shandong in Sanya, Hainan province, according to footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV.

The turnout suggested that there were only enough pilots for two squadrons, or 24 J-15 fighter jets, instead of 36 as previously suggested by state media.

“The standard ratio of carrier-based fighter jets to pilots is [2:3],” Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said. “The Shandong won’t have many fighter jets because it is just entering its initial commissioning period.”

CCTV reported in August that the Shandong would be able to have up to 36 J-15 fighter jets, or about 50 per cent more than the capacity of the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier.

But Beijing-based military expert Zhou Chenming said that while the Shandong had more hanger space than its predecessor, it would be impossible for the Shandong to have as many as 36 J-15s on board.

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