China has 3 J-16 fighter jets, copying Su-30MK2

Images from a recent Chinese military parade before training at the Cangzhou base in Hebei province showed that at least two air force brigades are undergoing training to convert to the J-16.

This brings the total to three such units operating J-16 fighters in service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

These units are likely the 172nd and 176th Brigades of the PLAAF Flight Training and Education Center. The unit is tasked with “developing new flight techniques, combat tactics, and flight training programs and equipment,” according to Andreas Rupprecht, author of several books on the Chinese Air Force.

The aircraft number indicates that the third unit assigned to the J-16 is the 98th Brigade based in Chongqing in southwestern China. There are also reports that the 7th Brigade in Wuhu, Anhui Province, is operating J-16s, but this information cannot be verified at this time.

A small number of J-16s were tested by the 176th Brigade in 2015 for evaluation. However, multiple sources said that the aircraft's entry into PLAAF service was delayed due to the need to refine the design of the radar developed by China's 607 Institute.

The Shenyang J-16 is a Chinese-developed version of the Russian Su-30 Flanker-C multirole fighter. Unlike the J-11B, which is based on the Sukhoi Su-27, the J-16 is designed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions using its AESA radar.

Like the J-11B, the J-16 is powered by a Chinese WS-10 Taihang turbofan engine. However, the J-16 has in-flight refueling capability, an infrared search system, twin nose wheels with higher take-off capability, and no pitot tube on the nose cone.

The biggest advantage of the J-16 over other fighters such as the J-10 is its large fuselage, which increases its payload and range.

Previously, when training in the East Sea and the East China Sea, the Chinese Air Force's H-6K bombers were often escorted by Su-30MKK. Therefore, this will also be an important mission that the new J-16 Brigades will likely continue to carry out in the coming time.

An electronic attack version, tentatively designated J-16D, is under development, with at least one prototype believed to have made several test flights.

The Chinese Air Force's demand for the J-16 is huge, with at least 300 aircraft needed in the future to replace older fighters such as the Su-30, J-11, and JH-7. It is expected that China will maintain the pace of equipping at least one Brigade each year.

In addition, the Chinese Navy is also planning to equip J-16 or J-20 to replace J-8II and JH-7 aircraft.

Thus, China is accelerating the "copy" of the Russian Su-30MKK fighter jet, just as they previously developed the J-11, which was copied from the Russian Su-27. It can be said that every time China buys a Russian aircraft, it produces an identical version, and this may also happen to the S-35 fighter jet.

In 2015, China signed a contract to buy only 24 Su-35S from Russia (enough to equip a regiment) and it is very likely that this country only bought a small number with the aim of learning the technology, then launching a certain J-XX fighter line.

This has been warned by Russian military experts, but under the conditions of being surrounded and sanctioned by the US and Europe, Moscow had to sell Su-35 to China to build relationships in exchange for large economic contracts.