China deploys new electronic warfare aircraft on Shandong aircraft carrier

The Chinese Navy equipped the Shandong aircraft carrier with new J-15D electronic warfare aircraft.

This became known from the story of the Chinese state information corporation CCTV.

The planes that are part of the Shandong aircraft carrier air group were involved in large-scale exercises of the Chinese fleet in the South China Sea together with other surface ships.

During the air stage of the exercises, J-15Ds performed the task of creating obstacles to the aircraft of a potential enemy, and also provided cover for J-15 fighters with the help of powerful means of radio-electronic warfare for their exit to a given area.

According to the plan, naval aviation plans to deploy up to 12 electronic warfare aircraft on board the aircraft carriers to compensate for the insufficient number of aircraft carriers and provide superiority during open ocean operations.

The J-15D aircraft was developed on the basis of the two-seat combat training variant of the J-15S and made its first flight in April 2021. This aircraft is designed to perform electronic warfare tasks, in particular, jamming ground and surface radar systems, as well as creating electronic interference for enemy weapons.

To increase its capabilities in the field of electronic warfare/electronic warfare, the aircraft is equipped with a KG600 hanging container, which is installed on the wingtips. In addition, the aircraft can carry four additional RKZ-930 hanging containers for operation in various environments.

It is worth noting that the J-15D/DH aircraft receive tail numbers starting with «90». Currently, the existence of five aircraft of this type has been officially confirmed, two of which are single-seat, which is an atypical configuration for aircraft of this class.

Despite this, in both configurations the aircraft are capable of using missile weapons, in particular, air-to-air missiles with PL-9 and PL-10 infrared homing heads, as well as the PL-12 radar homing head. In addition, they can carry YJ-83K anti-ship missiles.

In addition to the suspended and integrated containers, the aircraft is also capable of creating electronic jamming using an on-board radar station with an active phased array antenna (AFAR).

The J-15D is positioned as an analogue and direct competitor to the American EA-18G Growler, however, the supply of the Chinese aircraft for export is prohibited.