The latest photos from social media show that China's fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft "family photo" has officially made its debut. It can be seen that multiple types of carrier-based aircraft, including the J-35 stealth carrier-based fighter, the J-15T catapult-type heavy carrier-based fighter, the J-15DH/DT electronic warfare aircraft, and the KJ-600 early warning aircraft, are conducting flight training in formation. This marks a breakthrough for the Chinese Navy in terms of equipment system construction and carrier aviation forces. Not only has it reached the level of the U.S. Navy's carrier aviation forces, but it also has the material strength to conduct long-range battles with the world's first navy for the first time.

The development of the Chinese Navy's aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft systems shows a clear "U.S. military influence" on the "Fujian" carrier, the KJ-600 early warning aircraft, the J-15T, the J-15DT, and the full series of J-35. Aviation forces are the sharp edge and cornerstone for aircraft carriers to carry out various combat missions. The development of the U.S. Navy's carrier-based aircraft fleet has provided a standard answer in this field. After World War II, except for China, which has replicated and surpassed the U.S. Navy, no other country in the world has been able to achieve this.

Regarding core technologies of carrier-based aircraft, China is moving towards domestic production and self-reliance, ensuring that the technical performance of equipment approaches or exceeds foreign counterparts, and firmly avoiding situations where key technologies could be "strangled". This is particularly important, and compared to other countries such as the UK, France, and India, China has already achieved the best results in this area. These three countries highly rely on foreign technology and finished products, and although they seem smooth at present, there are hidden dangers behind them.

Finally, the composition of carrier-based aviation forces. The fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft on the Liaoning and Shandong carriers mainly consist of the J-15, J-15T, and J-15DH. These three types give the two carriers considerable capabilities in anti-ship operations at sea, land attack operations, air defense interception operations, and electronic warfare. However, given that our opponent is the U.S. Navy, this requires the Fujian carrier, which will be commissioned later, to make up for the shortcomings in long-range early warning detection (operational capability) and fifth-generation carrier-based aircraft (equipment spectrum).

Especially the J-35 carrier-based stealth fighter, which has entered the low-rate initial production (LRIP) phase. According to the "War Zone" website in the U.S., the J-35 carrier-based aircraft has now entered the LRIP phase, and the production serial numbers seen so far are 0011 and 0012, which means that at least 12 J-35s have been delivered to the Chinese Navy. The J-35 stealth carrier-based fighter is a key link in winning against the U.S. Navy in high-intensity confrontation environments. In long-range air defense operations and anti-ship attacks, the J-35 will take on the dual tasks of dealing with incoming aerial targets and striking enemy air defense forces, and its strategic value is self-evident.

Referring to the structure of the U.S. Navy's carrier air wing, the fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft force composition of the "Fujian" carrier will consist of two J-15T squadrons (24-32 aircraft), two J-35 squadrons (24-32 aircraft), one J-15DT squadron (4-5 aircraft), one KJ-600 squadron (4-5 aircraft), and eight carrier helicopters. Of course, this is not fixed and can be adjusted according to operational needs. When the air threat increases, the proportion of aircraft used for air defense increases; when the air threat decreases, the forces used for land and sea attacks increase, thus enhancing the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier group.

Once the carrier-based aircraft equipment system is complete, the "Fujian" carrier will be more versatile in carrying out the following campaign tasks: first, establishing an air defense intercept line and combat patrol areas in the pre-set battlefield far from the mainland in the Western Pacific, conducting aerial reconnaissance, aerial interception, etc., against U.S.-Japan forces and incoming fire projection. Second, in the Western Pacific waters, conducting aerial tracking and surveillance of nearby U.S.-Japan aircraft carrier strike groups and maritime forces, or launching campaign attacks to destroy or annihilate enemy fleets.

Third, in the South China Sea, cooperating with the coastal air force and ground-based missile and coastal defense forces deployed on the islands and reefs in the South China Sea to block or annihilate the maritime forces of the U.S., Japan, and Australia attempting to attack our islands and reefs. Currently, several neighboring countries have U.S. bases and deploy long-range strike weapons on their own territory, which requires the "Fujian" carrier to undertake some land attack missions. Striving to make the enemy lose combat capability through multi-wave saturation strikes on multiple fronts.

With the new generation of fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft represented by the J-35, J-15T, J-15DT, and KJ-600, the value of the "Fujian" carrier, an electromagnetic catapult super-carrier, will be fully demonstrated, significantly enhancing the comprehensive combat capability of the Chinese Navy. In addition to the "family photo" of manned carrier-based aircraft, the use of carrier-based fixed-wing drones in China is also worth looking forward to. In future maritime battlefields, drones will carry out all-around operations such as reconnaissance and monitoring, air-to-surface strikes, and logistics support.

In the development process of China's aircraft carriers, the "Fujian" carrier holds an extremely important position, laying a solid foundation for the future development and construction of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The importance of the KJ-600, J-35, J-15T, and J-35DT carrier-based aircraft is also significant. This is the first time that China has matched the U.S. Navy in carrier-based aviation combat forces and even surpassed the U.S. Navy. In the future, when the world talks about advanced carrier-based aircraft, it may overlook the U.S. F-35 "Fat Electric", and directly think of China's J-35 stealth carrier-based aircraft.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7529327622140985890/

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