BEIJING, Nov. 7 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's J-15T heavy-duty carrier-borne fighter jet landed in Zhuhai City, south China's Guangdong Province, on Wednesday. This is the first time the J-15T fighter jet has been displayed to the public at close range.
Compared with other models in the J-15 series, the biggest advantage of the J-15T is that it is capable of catapult-assisted takeoff, which improves the combat capability of a single aircraft and increases the frequency of sorties.
According to military expert Song Xinzhi, since the currently deployed J-15 fighter jets all adopt the method of ski-jump takeoff, their nose landing gears do not have the catapult device or structural reinforcement. Therefore, by examining whether the nose landing gear of a J-15 fighter jet has been modified or reinforced, we can tell whether the aircraft is designed for catapult-assisted takeoff.
