The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently held a mock battle between a group of aircraft carrier-borne fighter jets and a land-based joint warplane formation. Liu Xuanzun reports in Global Times.

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J-15 fighter on the Liaoning aircraft carrier (Picture source: english.chinamil.com.cn).

In the exercise above the Yellow Sea, the PLA Northern Theater Command Air Force and Navy joined forces and dispatched land-based warplanes including KJ-200 early warning aircraft, J-10A fighter jets and JH-7A fighter bombers in the red team, as they faced the challenge of the blue team consisting of a group of J-15 carrier-borne fighter jets coming from the sea, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on May 10.

The exercise simulated attack and defense under many different battlefield environments including air-to-air, air-to-sea and air-to-ground, CCTV reported. No scenarios were preset in the exercise, as neither side had any idea of what was coming, Senior Captain Bian Fengchun, the deputy commander of the participating naval aviation force, told CCTV. "The exercise practiced the buildup of the reconnaissance and early warning system, fast anti-sea attack and coordinated attack and defense, and the officers' skills in battlefield command were also enhanced," Bian said.

China operates two aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, both of which use J-15 fighter jets.