J-16 with anti-ship missiles makes a strong appearance, deterring the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea

Source: unnamed official account

With the United States acting more recklessly in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the People's Liberation Army has begun to intensify its military training in close combat environments. After the United States, the British aircraft carrier strike group recently entered the South China Sea, which has sparked strong opposition from China.

In order to deter overseas interference forces, the Chinese Air Force has started a new round of large-scale live fire training and exercises.

In the report, the People's Liberation Army's J-16 fighter jet demonstrated its powerful anti-ship combat capability. The J-16 in the picture is carrying a reconnaissance pod and two YJ-83 anti-ship missiles. Chinese Air Force pilots have stated that the combination of the J-16 and J-20 can form a high and low configuration, with each performing its own duties, and can completely defeat any invading enemy.

The J-16 is a heavy four and a half generation fighter with two seats and two engines, and is currently the most advanced combat force of the Chinese Air Force.

For a long time, the Chinese Air Force's ground to sea combat capabilities were carried out by dedicated attack aircraft and fighter bombers, such as the Qiang-5 and J-7, so there has always been a term for strong strike pilots in the Chinese Air Force's organization. But foreign countries such as the US military have long replaced attack aircraft with heavy multi-purpose fighters, which can simultaneously perform air superiority and ground to sea combat missions.

The Chinese Air Force did not obtain such fighter jets until the introduction of the Su-30MKK, and the J-16 is a new generation of heavy multi-purpose fighter developed on the basis of the Su-30MKK, with performance not inferior to the US F-15EX.

As a heavy fighter jet, the J-16 has numerous external attachment points and a payload capacity of 8-10 tons. The J-16 can carry 36 bombs in one attack, enough to destroy a target of an armored company.

So far, in public actions in the Taiwan Strait and India, the J-16 has mainly demonstrated its strong air superiority capability.

The J-16 can carry both the Thunderbolt 15 long-range air-to-air missile and the Thunderbolt 10 short-range air-to-air missile. The range of the Thunderbolt 15 can reach 150 kilometers, while the Thunderbolt 10, which uses infrared imaging guidance, adopts a staring focal plane array to lock on stealth targets.

The J-16 has been in service with the Chinese Air Force for several years, but its combat capabilities have not yet been fully demonstrated.

Previously, the J-16 often used 122mm heavy rockets for routine ground strikes, which made many people doubt whether its precision strike capability was in place. And this time CCTV News

By mounting anti-ship missiles on the J-16, it is evident that the J-16 fully possesses such capabilities or is improving its attack system.

The J-16 participating in the event is equipped with a pod under the left air intake, which should be the Eagle Eagle II pod. This pod can assist the J-16 in carrying out ultra-low altitude penetration missions. The improved YJ-83 used in the J-16 has a range of over 200 kilometers.

In addition to the YJ-83, the J-16 is also capable of carrying supersonic YJ-91 missiles, with a maximum speed of up to 3.5 Mach, leaving opponents' air defense systems unable to react in time.

Although China has vast maritime borders, the People's Liberation Army's navy and air force were once insufficient, and in fact lacked the ability to launch large-scale sea strikes. Previously, the People's Liberation Army Navy and Air Force only had one Flying Leopard that could carry anti-ship missiles. Nowadays, the J-16 will gradually replace the position of the Flying Leopard, greatly enhancing the long-range anti-ship capability of the navy and air force.

Taking the British aircraft carrier battle group as an example, its total number of carrier based aircraft is only about 30, and its actual deployment efficiency is even lower, making it impossible to ensure air superiority in waters like the South China Sea.

The combination of J-16 and J-20 can not only control air superiority, but also carry out saturation type anti aircraft carrier attacks. In fact, the meaning of the Chinese military is also very clear, such as the anti-ship ballistic missiles of the Rocket Force or long-range bomber units, which are reserved to deal with American aircraft carriers.

The small British aircraft carrier fleet really doesn't need a big knife to kill chickens. The J-16 and surface fleet are enough to deal with it.