People’s Daily Online, August 05, 2016
A number of photos showing eight J-15 fighters parked on the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier have recently surfaced online. The presence of the fight jets indicates that the combat capability of the aircraft carrier is growing quickly, according to Yin Zhuo, a military expert, in an interview with CCTV.
According to Yin, the Liaoning can carry over 20 aircraft. The number of fighter jets on its deck has increased from one or two in the initial stage to between four and eight today, indicating that the carrier’s capacity for dispatching aircraft is increasing.
As a heavy fighter, the J-15 can launch strikes against land and sea targets. If the eight fighters take off simultaneously, they can strike multiple targets with precision-guided weapons.