Take a look at the J-15 fighter jet, the $61 million copy of a Soviet plane picked to wage war from China's aircraft carriers

Chinese J-15 fighter jets on the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier during military drills in the Yellow Sea, off China's east coast.

Contributor/AFP/STR/China OUT/Getty Images

• China's touts the J-15 as its first locally made carrier-borne fighter jet.
• The jet is an unlicensed copy of a Soviet-made Su-33 prototype, which China reverse-engineered.
• While the jet is one of China's best, experts say it can't compete with the US F/A-18s or newer F-35s.

The Shenyang J-15 is China's carrier-borne fighter jet. There are several dozen units of the jet currently in service.

J-15 fighter jet preparing to land on China's first operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, during a drill at sea.

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The jet, nicknamed "Flying Shark," first entered service with China's People's Liberation Naval Air Force in 2014. It was manufactured by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of the state-owned defense conglomerate Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

According to a May 2021 report by The Diplomat, some 50 units of the jet are currently in operation. The J-15 is China's first carrier-borne fighter jet, meaning that it was primarily designed for China's growing fleet of aircraft carriers.

In December 2021, China revealed an upgraded version of the jet, featuring updates to its missile pylons, radar, wings, and infrared search and track system. According to the state-affiliated media outlet Global Times, the upgraded version of the J-15 could be capable of carrying a short-range combat missile.

These improvements led a Chinese military expert to suggest the fourth-gen J-15 could be considered a "fourth-generation-plus" fighter jet in discussions with China's Global Times.

Military 4.5-generation jets feature active electronically scanned array radar, high capacity data links, and the ability to deploy advanced armaments, according to the science and technology publication Phys.org, citing definitions by the 2020 US Defense Authorization Act. It's unclear if the J-15 meets these conditions.

The J-15 is modeled after the Soviet-made Su-33 jet, per The National Interest.

J15 fighter jet landing on China's sole operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, during a drill at sea.

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China purchased an unfinished prototype of the Su-33 and built the J-15 based on the Soviet jet's airframe, The National Interest reported. The Su-33 was first produced in 1987, per United Aircraft Corporation.

Several Russian weapon systems, including the J-15, were copied without permission, according to a 2017 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

As the J-15 is essentially an unlicensed copy of the Su-33, the jets have basically identical dimensions. The J-15 measures 21.9 meters in length, 14.7 meters in height, and has a wingspan of 14.7 meters, according to Military Today.

One point of difference between the J-15 and Su-33 is the engines. While the J-15 jet operates with the Chinese-made WS-10, the Su-33 uses the Saturn AL-31.

The indigenous WS-10 engine has been described as "underdeveloped" compared to the Russian engines China has traditionally relied on Russia for, per The National Interest. Several other Chinese jets also use the WS-10, including the J-20 and J-16 jets.

 

In September, Chinese state media released a video that military experts said appeared to show a J-15 warning off a US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, according to South China Morning Post.

J-15 fighter jets are seen on the flight deck of China's sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, as it arrives in Hong Kong waters.

Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images

Yue Gang, a former Chinese colonel, said the features of the warship in the video matched the characteristics of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, citing its large, four-sided phased array radar antenna, double funnel, and anti-submarine torpedoes, SCMP reported.

Chinese military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times that he also identified the warship in the video as a US destroyer. Other observers, however, noted that Japan and South Korea have ships based on the Arleigh Burke class design.

The US and Chinese militaries routinely find themselves in close proximity in the Indo-Pacific region, including some tense interactions.

China is trying to build a stronger military that can hold its own against the United States' armed forces. According to a December 2021 report by the Harvard Kennedy School, China has strived to modernize its military since Xi Jinping's reforms in 2015 in order to "shift the balance of power" in the growing military rivalry between China and the US.

While the J-15 has been compared to several US jets like the F-35, it's been said to be no match for its US counterparts.

Chinese J-15 fighter jet preparing to take off from the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier during military drills in the Bohai Sea, off China's northeast coast.

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According to The National Interest's Kris Osborn, who served as an expert at the Pentagon, the J-15 can't compete with the F-35C and F-35B jets even with upgrades, mainly because the J-15 is only a fourth-generation jet while the F-35 is a fifth-generation aircraft.

Osborn said that even an upgraded J-15 will have difficulties with regard to air supremacy against the F-35s, the C and B variants of which serve aboard US carriers and amphibious assault ships.

Unlike these fifth-generation aircraft, the J-15 lacks advanced radar evading capabilities, per The Diplomat. The F-35's VLO stealth enables it to "evade enemy detection and enter contested airspace," per Lockheed Martin.

The J-15 "would likely get slaughtered" if it went head to head with even fourth-generation aircraft like the F/A-18, experts previously told Insider, noting weaknesses in Chinese carrier designs.

Members of the public take photos with J-15 fighter jets aboard the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning on July 8, 2017.

Felix Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

While the J-15 has underpowered engines, it can carry more weapons and fuel, so it's capable of flying higher and faster than the F/A-18, Insider reported.

But China's aircraft carriers limit the advantages of the J-15. The Liaoning and Shandong, which carry complements of J-15 jets, use ski-jump assisted short take-off launch systems over catapults.

According to senior defense researcher Timothy Heath, a ski-slope configuration makes it difficult for the J-15 to take off with a full payload. In comparison, the F/A-18 can launch with a full load of fuel and weaponry because US carriers use catapult-assisted take-off.

"If you're talking about the J-15 going up against the F/A-18 at sea, then the F/A-18 is going to destroy the J-15," Heath told Insider two years ago.

China has since launched a new aircraft carrier with catapults that could allow the J-15 to better compete with the F/A-18.

The unit cost of the J-15 is at least $61 million, SCMP reported, citing Chinese military commentator Zhou Chenming.

China's sole operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, during a drill at sea.

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While much pricier than other locally made counterparts like the JL-9, which Zhou, a Beijing-based military expert, estimates costs about $10 million, the J-15 is far from being China's most expensive fighter jet. The fifth-generation J-20, which entered service in March 2017, costs between $100 million to $120 million per unit, according to SCMP.

"The J-15 is expensive because it is an attack fighter jet and needs to be fitted with sophisticated devices and weapons,"  Zhou told SCMP in a 2020 report.

There are at least five variations of the J-15, according to the Office of Naval Intelligence.

J-15 jet fighter is displayed at the military parade for the Commemorations of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War is held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

Contributor/South China Morning Post/Getty Images

The initial model of the J-15 is a single-seat variant of the jet, per The National Interest. There's also a twin-seat variant, the J-15S.

Another variant of the jet is the J-15T, which is coated with an anti-corrosion material.

The J-15B, the jet's latest variant, has an improved avionics suite that enhances air superiority and strike capability, per The Diplomat.

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