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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

China’s new J-16D fighter jet has been deployed to an eastern airbase near Taiwan

  • It’s not clear if the electronic warfare aircraft was among the planes that flew into the island’s air defence zone in recent show of force
  • New hangars have also been built for advanced fighters at another airbase in Zhejiang province, according to satellite images

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A J-16D fighter jet (third from right) is seen at the Xiangtang airbase in Jiangxi in this satellite image taken in May and released on Saturday. Photo: Kanwa Defence Review
Minnie Chan
China’s military has deployed its new J-16D fighter jet designed for electronic warfare to an eastern airbase near Taiwan, according to satellite imagery and a People’s Liberation Army source.
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It comes amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait, with a record number of PLA warplanes sent into the island’s air defence identification zone in recent days as Beijing ramps up its campaign of military intimidation. Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and the PLA has sent planes into the island’s air defence zone nearly every day in the past year.

Monday saw the biggest show of force so far, involving 56 fighter jets led by dozens of J-16 multirole strike fighters – designed to be used in a possible conflict with Taiwan.

It is not clear if the newest electronic warfare version that can jam enemy radars was among them. But a satellite image released on Saturday by Canada-based Kanwa Defence Review shows a J-16D being housed at an airbase in Jiangxi province.

Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the defence magazine, said satellite imagery showed the J-16D had been deployed to the Xiangtang airbase in Nanchang, Jiangxi in May. One satellite image shows hangars at the airbase that can accommodate advanced fighter jets like the J-16D.

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A satellite image from January shows new hangars and other infrastructure being built at an airbase in Changxing county, Zhejiang province. Photo: Kanwa Defence Review
A satellite image from January shows new hangars and other infrastructure being built at an airbase in Changxing county, Zhejiang province. Photo: Kanwa Defence Review

A separate image from January shows another airbase – in Changxing county, Zhejiang province – is being expanded, with new hangars and other infrastructure being built.

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