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China’s older aircraft carriers can operate more closely with the more advanced Fujian than previously thought, observers said following PLA exercises showing upgraded fighter jets taking off from the older Liaoning carrier.
Images taken during a 40-day mission in the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean that ended on June 22 showed multiple J-15T jets taking off from, and landing on, the Liaoning.
China operates three aircraft carriers, which use two launch systems.
The older Liaoning and Shandong both launch jets from an upwardly curved “ski jump” deck. The Fujian, China’s newest carrier, is equipped with an electromagnetic catapult system – technology that allows planes to be launched more frequently and with heavier loads. Only China and the United States have deployed this technology.
The J-15T, a variant of China’s first carrier-based fighter, can be launched from an electromagnetic catapult.




Military specialists said the images suggested the J-15T could take off from and land on all of China’s aircraft carriers, with implications for the country’s integrated combat capabilities.
Fu Qianshao, a military analyst and former People’s Liberation Army Air Force officer, said the J-15T’s ability to perform both catapult-assisted and ski-jump take-offs was a “massive tactical advantage”.
“During future dual-carrier operations – especially those involving different types of aircraft carriers – the J-15T can be cross-deployed across platforms, drastically improving operational flexibility,” Fu said.
If one carrier were damaged or otherwise unable to operate, its J-15T fighter units could be transferred to other carriers, ensuring that combat capability and fleet effectiveness could be sustained, state broadcaster CCTV reported last year.
“Given that the overall combat capability of the J-15T is vastly superior to that of the baseline J-15, it is highly anticipated that these catapult-variant fighters will eventually replace the older models on existing ski-jump carriers,” Fu added.
Zhang Xuefeng, a military commentator, told CCTV on Monday that the deployment of the J-15T on the Liaoning could significantly improve the carrier’s “overall air superiority capabilities, as well as its surface and land-attack strike capabilities”.
He said that compared to the basic model, the variant aircraft was equipped with longer-range missiles and improved radar and targeting systems, allowing it to detect, track and engage targets at greater distances.
The Liaoning’s latest drills far from the Chinese mainland are a sign that integrated operations involving the Fujian are on the horizon.


In September 2025, the Fujian’s catapult launched and assisted the landings of the J-15T, the J-35 stealth fighter jet and the KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft for the first time, marking a milestone in the carrier’s flight operations capability.
The carrier was expected to be fully operational by the end of the year, according to state media.


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While the J-15T was designed to use an advanced launch system, new images show it operating from the older Liaoning carrier


While the J-15T was designed to use an advanced launch system, new images show it operating from the older Liaoning carrier.


China’s aircraft carriers

Fujian Type 003 aircraft carrier

South China Sea

Fu Qianshao

Why it matters that China’s advanced fighters can use all its carriers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}While the J-15T was designed to use an advanced launch system, new images show it operating from the older Liaoning carrier

While the J-15T was designed to use an advanced launch system, new images show it operating from the older Liaoning carrier