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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

China’s jet fighter pilots elevated as aircraft carrier fleet grows

  • The promotion of flying officers to command positions on board PLA Navy carriers mirrors US approach
  • CCTV documentary also highlights another similarity, with the Chinese navy now training its own pilots

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The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong and its battle group during training exercises in the South China Sea in August. Photo: CCTV
Minnie Chan
China’s navy has been taking a leaf out of its US counterpart’s command structure, with state broadcaster CCTV providing an insight this week into one of the first jet fighter pilots to serve in a senior role aboard an aircraft carrier.

J-15 pilot Xu Ying performed the initial night landing on the deck of Liaoning – China’s first aircraft carrier – in 2017, and was promoted to executive officer (XO) of the Shandong – its first domestically built carrier – in 2020, after a year of warship combat and command training.

“As a user of ship-borne weapons, I would share my [naval flight experiences] with comrades working in the equipment department and try efforts to improve our operational system, finding a better way to help China’s aircraft carrier undertaking,” Xu told a documentary on CCTV.

Xu, now a naval commodore, continues to lead the J-15 Flying Shark aviation team in routine training, according to CCTV.

His appointment is just one example of the PLA Navy’s efforts to catch up with the US service, where almost all commanding and executive officers are drawn from the ranks of its fighter pilots.

Previously, almost all the commanding officers on China’s first two carriers were former commanders of destroyers and frigates.

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