After failed attempts to procure Russia's Sukhoi Su-33—due to disputes over intellectual property and procurement terms—China reverse-engineered the Su-33 using a prototype obtained from Ukraine, leading to the development of the J-15.

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Reverse Engineering

To reverse engineer the Su-33, the Chinese relied upon an Su-33 prototype that had been procured from Ukraine. The result was the J-15, whose prototype debuted in 2009, and made its first ski-jump takeoff in 2010. Granted, the ski-jump wasn’t on a carrier, but rather had been constructed on land, where the stakes were lower, and the margins for error higher, but still, the test served as a proof of concept. The J-15 was tested from an actual aircraft carrier in 2012, during a deployment from the Lianoning.

In addition to the ski-jump takeoffs, the J-15 was outfitted to perform catapult launches, too. As such, the J-15 is built strong, to withstand the structural stress of carrier takeoffs and landings. Still, the J-15’s airframe was built predominantly from composite materials for the purpose of saving weight and improving performance.  

Originally, the J-15 had been built with a Russian Saturn AL-31 turbofan engine. But in 2022, the J-15 appeared with a Chinese-made WS-10B engine. According to the Chinese, their homegrown engine was better than the Russian Saturn, offering improved safety, reliability, and service life.

J-15 Performance 

The J-15 does perform admirably. While Chinese assessments, that the J-15 “exceeds the aerodynamic capabilities of virtually any fighter aircraft currently operated by regional militaries, except for the U.S. F-22 Raptor,” may be overblown, the J-15 does have a ten percent greater thrust-to-weight ratio, and 25 percent better wing loading, than the closest American equivalent – the F/A-18 Super Hornet. And the Chinese have not been shy about claiming that the J-15 is a superior aircraft to the Super Hornet, at least with respect to bomb load, combat radius, and mobility, if not with respect to electronic and combat systems.

Either way, the J-15 is an indication of China’s budding military ambitions.  

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