Chinese aircraft carrier stole Russian technology?
The J-15 began development in 2005. From the moment the first images of the J-15 appeared, military experts quoted by Strategypage said that it had many similarities with the Su-33, the carrier-based version of the Russian military.
After the Su-27 sale to China and the painful experience of seeing their aircraft copied under the name J-11, Russia was very sober, they refused all contracts to sell Su-33 to China.
The Su-33 fighter jet has not been used by Russia on aircraft carriers since late 2009.
Not only is it a painful experience, Russia also realizes China's intention when they do not want to buy much, the contracts only stop at 2 Su-33s for 'evaluation'.
However, China eventually obtained a Su-33 purchased from Ukraine, an aircraft inherited after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The first prototypes of the J-15 were built in two years and had their first test flight in 2010. The Russians were not pleased with this, Russian aviation experts openly ridiculed the J-15 for the ability of Chinese engineers to develop the features of the Su-33.
However, with extensive experience in copying, China has made J-15 aircraft with similar capabilities to the Su-33, and in some points even better. Meanwhile, Russia no longer uses the Su-33.
In late 2009, the Russian Navy spent more than $1 billion to buy 24 MiG-29Ks, a carrier-based aircraft, to completely replace the Su-33s currently operating on the Kuznetsov.
MiG-29K, the aircraft that will replace the Su-33 on Russian aircraft carriers
The MiG-29K is the carrier-based version of the MiG-29, which first flew in 2005, 15 years after the MiG-29 was introduced.
Earlier this month, China’s second J-15 made its maiden flight. This is a two-seat version, in which the co-pilot controls the weapons system, operating in a similar way to the US Air Force’s F-15E. However, the US no longer uses the F-15E on its aircraft carriers.
Currently, China has planned to produce large numbers of J-15s for use on its aircraft carrier Liaoning.
According to information from the military website Strategypage, China has about 20 J-15s for testing activities.
Meanwhile, China is still using JL-9 trainer aircraft to conduct carrier-related training flights.
Before the J-15 made its first landing on the Liaoning, the Chinese Air Force built runways on land that were similar in size to the Liaoning's deck and arresting cables. This is where they practiced landings with JL-9 trainers equipped with tail hooks.
The US F-15E is also no longer used on aircraft carriers.
The JL-9 is an upgraded version of the JJ-7 trainer aircraft, while the JJ-7 is also believed to be a copy of Russia's MiG-21.
The JL-9 is considered more maneuverable than the MiG-21 and was produced to replace the JL-15 trainer aircraft due to its lower cost.According to VTC-M
