J-15 fighter jets on the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning, during training at sea (French)

The Telegraph newspaper was surprised by the sudden appearance of the newest Chinese stealth fighter on the oldest aircraft carrier in China this month, and wondered whether Beijing intends to deploy Shenyang J-35 aircraft on board these old aircraft carriers, which are newer and much larger?

The newspaper believed that this development may complicate the American naval war plans, due to the need to take into account the increasing capacity of the growing Chinese aircraft carrier fleet, even though the Chinese navy at present does not have, compared to the 11 aircraft carriers of the American Navy, only two, They are the Liaoning, a rebuilt former Soviet aircraft carrier, and her slightly improved sister Shandong.

The non-nuclear Liaoning and Shandong represent huge leaps forward for the Chinese fleet, but they are not without some shortcomings, as they lack the steam- or electric-powered catapults that are standard on America's 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Chinese aircraft carriers launch their aircraft under their own power across an inclined ramp, which requires much less energy than a catapult, but it affects the aircraft’s payload. However, the main fighter is launched from the American aircraft carrier, and it carries 8 tons of weapons under its wings, while a J-plane can be launched. 15 Chinese weapons with a weight not exceeding 1.5 tons.

A Chinese Navy frigate appears on the horizon in the waters near the coast of China (Reuters)

Strong opponent

This means - according to the newspaper - that Chinese aircraft carriers are much less useful than American aircraft carriers, because they cannot carry a lot of aircraft and launch them safely at the same time, unless they are joined in the coming years by the Fujian carrier, which weighs 80,000 tons.

Fujian can safely operate a wide range of aircraft, including heavy early warning aircraft, and it is no coincidence that Chinese industry is rushing to develop new types of aircraft for the Fujian carrier.

The J-35, which is still under development, is considered the most advanced of these new aircraft. It is an approximate counterpart to the American F-35 stealth fighter, and has great radar-evading features. Fujian’s ability to launch it must make it a strong opponent for American airlines.

The appearance of a static mock-up of the J-35 on the surface of Liaoning this winter indicates that China plans to fly the new aircraft from its old aircraft carriers as well, which increases the threat, if China carries out its threats and invades Taiwan, and at the same time the United States respects its commitment to defending Taiwan. Democracy on the island.

The conclusion - according to the newspaper - is that the Americans must assume that all Chinese aircraft carriers are about to launch stealth fighters, and they must prepare to fight them.

Source: Telegraph