New Fighter Designed For China’s Aircraft Carriers Makes First Flight

The Guizhou JL-9G carrier based single engine fighter jet was reported by a number of Chinese sources to have carried out its first flight on May 12th 2020, leading to widespread speculation that the aircraft could enter service in the near future and operate alongside heavier twin engine J-15 fighters from the country’s aircraft carriers. The JL-9 is a fighter-trainer designed primarily to prepare pilots to operate high end Chinese aircraft, but is also formidable in combat particularly on low intensity missions. The design is an extensively modernised derivative of the Soviet MiG-21, featuring a full glass cockpit, modern avionics and sensors and the ability to deploy a range of modern munitions for both air to air and air to ground missions.

The JL-9 was ranked third in terms of combat capability among the world’s trainers, and boasts formidable flight performance with a 150m/s climb rate, Mach 1.5 speed and 16km flight ceiling. It can carry both PL-8 and PL-9 air to air missiles, and has access to a range of targeting pods and an advanced helmet mounted display. Its capabilities are still far inferior, however, to those of heavier carrier based fighter jets such as the J-15. While a number of states have considered developing advanced combat capable trainers for their aircraft carriers, with the Soviet Union notably modifying the Su-25 attack jet into a trainer for such operations, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy will be the only service in the world to do so once the JL-9G enters service.