China’s Shandong aircraft carrier sets new sortie benchmark in military exercises
- Aircraft perform more than 600 take-offs and landings during manoeuvres in April, Japanese forces say
- Increase in jet and helicopter activity part of bigger, multi-service drills, analyst says
Japan’s Joint Staff Office said on Tuesday that navy fighter jets and helicopters made around 620 take-offs and landings from the Shandong carrier in the 18 days from April 7, up from 320 from the Liaoning in the 15 days of an exercise in December.
A higher sortie rate can potentially increase the combat power and flexibility of an aircraft carrier group.
The Joint Staff Office said that from April 7 the carrier group started training with J-15 carrier-based fighter jets and Z-18J helicopters on the flight deck in the Philippine Sea, east of Taiwan and south of Japan’s Yaeyama and Miyako islands in the Ryukyu chain.
During the Joint Sword drill, Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected J-15 fighters entering its self-declared air defence identification zone for the first time.
The Shandong carrier group remained in the region after the drill ended, staying in the area at least until Monday, according to the Joint Staff Office.
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Song Zhongping, a former People’s Liberation Army instructor, said the Shandong and China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, would be valuable in a conflict over Taiwan, especially to prevent American or Japanese forces from aiding Taiwan’s military.
The vessels could also block Taiwanese troops from leaving, and moving arms and equipment from the island, he said. “An effective strike on the eastern part of the Taiwan island requires the help of air infrastructure.”
The eastern side of Taiwan is less fortified than the west, which faces mainland China, but the island’s central mountain range offers a natural barrier against any attacks from the east by the PLA.
Beijing sees Taiwan as a breakaway province to be united with the mainland, by force if necessary. The United States and most other countries do not recognise the island as an independent state, but Washington opposes attempts by Beijing to forcefully take the island.
The Joint Sword exercises were launched in response to a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, in California.
Song said the Z-18J helicopters were used for early warning, while the J-15 fighters could intercept and attack adversaries approaching the battlefield.
“The two can form a coordinated response,” he said.
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Yue Gang, a retired PLA colonel, said the Shandong’s higher sortie rate could be because it was focused on testing its flight capabilities, a basic function of an aircraft carrier.
The Liaoning, which entered active service seven years before the Shandong, was already staging exercises on air defence and anti-submarine training to simulate combat conditions, state broadcaster CCTV reported last week.
“So most of [the Shandong’s] training would be focused on basic training involving carrier-based aircraft. It has to complete training for this core, fundamental part of its combat capability,” he said.
