China claims new fighter jet can operate in 1,000 km radius

BEIJING: As it rapidly modernises its military, China today claimed that its new J-15 fighter jet which will operate from its recently-acquired aircraft carrier, can cover a radius of 1,000 kms in attack missions.

The J-15 fighter jet is able to cover an area with a radius of over 1,000 km on attack missions, Sun Cong, a chief designer of the plane told state-run Xinhua news agency.

The jet reaches similar technical standards of the third-generation carrier-borne fighters currently in service, Sun, also a member of the advisory legislative body National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, (CPPCC) said.

"The jet is close to the US F-18 Hornet fighter jet in terms of bomb load, combat radius and mobility," he said.

According to some reports, Russia was upset as the J-15 resembled its Su-33.

Sun said great progress has been made on the fire-control radar and guided missiles on the fighter but more has to be done to improve its electronic countermeasures.

Nicknamed the "Flying Shark," the J-15 fighter passed a test flight in August 2009.

Last November, it conducted a successful landing on China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.