China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Su-35 jets deployed in joint combat patrol
The Chinese Air Force sent its Su-35 fighter jets to take part in a joint combat patrol taking place recently over the South China Sea, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force said in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon.
This is the first time the PLA Air Force made public a deployment of its Su-35s, built by Russia’s Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association and introduced to China in late 2016. It did not disclose when the patrol took place.
The statement said the multirole fighter jet’s participation in combat exercises will help to strengthen the Air Force’s long-range operational capability.
It noted that the plane is capable of carrying out aerial combat and precision strikes against land and sea targets.
The PLA Air Force will continue to conduct realistic training opportunities to improve combat capability, the statement said.
Wang Yanan, editor-inchief
2,500 km per hour The maximum speed of Su-35 jets, which can fly 3,400 kilometers without refueling 12 Number of bombs or missiles the aircraft can carry, which is armed with a 30-mm gun
of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the deployment indicates that PLA Air Force pilots have had sufficient flight hours in Su-35s and have become familiar enough with the aircraft to conduct sophisticated operations such as long-range combat patrols.
He noted that the Su-35 will help the PLA fill the gap of top combat planes before it has enough J-20s, China’s domestically built stealth fighter jet that is more advanced than the Su-35.
Officials from Russia’s state technology corporation Rostec said in November 2015 that Russia and China signed a contract estimated to be worth $2 billion for 24 Su-35s. The deal was later confirmed by Wu Qian, a spokesman for China’s Defense Ministry.
The PLA previously said on its website, 81.cn, that delivery of Su-35s to China started in December 2016.
Russian news agency TASS said that as one of Russia’s most advanced fighter jets, the Su-35 is equipped with a phased array antenna radar and thrust vectoring engines.
The aircraft has a maximum speed of 2,500 km per hour and can fly 3,400 kilometers without refueling, according to TASS. The fighter is armed with a 30-mm gun and can carry 12 bombs or missiles, the report said.
China bought a large number of Su-27 and Su-30 multirole fighter jets from Russia in the 1990s and early 2000s. The nation has also built many licensed variants based on the imported version.