Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>Su-33>HA6403
J-15 Flying Shark No. 114, Aircraft Carrier Liaoning, 2017
General Background
The J-15 is a Chinese twin-engine all-weather carrier-based fighter manufactured by the
Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in cooperation with the 601 Institute for the Chinese PLAN aircraft
carriers. In China the J-15 is known as the Flying Shark with a NATO designation of Flanker-X2.
The J-15 has the same basic airframe design as the Su-33. When the jet entered service in 2015
it was compared to the U.S. Navy’s two-seat FA-18 Super Hornet fighter. In 2018 it was
announced the J-15 would stop production for the J-15B.
The Aircraft
The aircraft carrier Liaoning was originally being built as the aircraft cruiser Riga but was
renamed Varyag in 1990. When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 all work stopped on the
bare bones ship and it was sold by Ukraine to China in 1998. The now named Liaoning, it was
commissioned in 2012 and combat ready in 2016. Liaoning’s will embark 24 J-15s, this means
that China is on its way to fielding its complement of carrier-borne fighters.
Specifications :
| First Flight: | August 31, 2009 |
| In Service: | 2013 |
| Crew: | 1 – 2 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length: | 21.19 m (72 ft) |
| Wingspan: | Down – 14.7 m (48 ft 3 in) |
| Folded – 8.4 m (27.56 ft) | |
| Height – 5.9 m (19.42 ft) | |
| Weights: | Empty – 175,000 kg (38,600 lb) |
| Loaded – 27,000 kg (60,000 lb) | |
| Maximum Takeoff – 33,000 kg (72,752 lb) | |
| Performance: | Powerplants – 2 X Modified WS-10 Variants Producing 132kN Each |
| Maximum Speed – Mach 2.4 (2,940 kph 1,826 mph) | |
| Ferry Range – 3,500 km (2,175 miles) | |
| Armament: | Cannon – 1 X 30 mm GSh-30-1 With 150 Rounds |
| Munitions On 12 External Hardpoints | |
| 8 X PL-12 or R-77 And | |
| 4 X PL-9 Or R-73 Air-To-Air Missiles | |
| YJ-62 Or Kh-41 Anti-Ship Missiles | |
| YJ-91 Supersonic Anti-Ship Missiles | |
| ECM Pods | |
| Various Bombs And Rockets |