Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>Su-33>HA6403

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