Taiwan Air Force released news on the evening of January 24 that the PLA sent a total of 13 military sorties into the southwest and southeast airspace of Taiwan Island that day, including the first appearance of the J-16D electronic combat aircraft in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait.
According to an analysis by a professional on Jan. 24, the PLA’s current training is all in the context of actual combat, and does not have to go to the vicinity of Taiwan or to the vicinity of a certain country’s aircraft carrier formation, according to the Global Times websites. These daily training mainly revolves around the synergy between various types of aircraft, tactical warfare, and preparation for various possibilities that may arise in the future.”
From the PLA aircraft types announced by Taiwan, Chinese military expert Song Zhongping said that PLA warplanes are basically in batches and systems, such as the J-10 playing an escort role, the J-16 conducting combat attacks, the H-6 carrying out long-range attacks against the sea and the ground, and the communication countermeasures and electronic reconnaissance aircraft guiding the targets. These warplanes operate in concert against an established tactical target, and are also a preview of future wartime formation combat capabilities.
Song Zhongping believes that, as electronic warfare aircraft, the J-16D is mainly to seize the power of electromagnetic control, “that is, we do not only want to obtain air control, but also the power of electromagnetic control”, after that, J-10, J-16, H-6 and H-6K can more effectively implement ground-to-sea strikes, to improve the overall combat capability of the formation.
Another military expert, who did not want to be named, told the Global Times that the J-16D can play two roles, one is to use a more sophisticated electronic reconnaissance system to detect, record and analyze the radar and radio communication signals of relevant targets. For example, in the report, the Taiwanese military said “chasing and monitoring with anti-aircraft missiles”, in fact, it is using the radar system of anti-aircraft missiles to track and monitor, when the J-16 electronic warfare aircraft can intercept and locate them. Second, in case of emergency, if the relevant target air defense missile or fighter has further offensive moves, it can interfere with it to protect our aircraft, especially the safety of large aircraft.
The J-16D is the latest model in China’s homemade J-16 fighter series to be equipped with troops, which is an improved model specifically for air defense suppression missions. The J-16 is a two-seat, twin-engine, heavy-duty, three-and-a-half generation fighter developed independently by China, and is a versatile combatant in both offense and defense. Compared with other fighters equipped by the Chinese Air Force, it has made a qualitative leap in fire control system, radar and operating system.
For the role played by the J-16D in combat, military expert Wang Mingliang pointed out that the J-16D is an electronic warfare aircraft. Its emergence is a new point of equipment development for the Chinese Air Force, which can operate in concert with air combat formations or air assault formations as accompanying electronic cover. Its mission is to suppress the enemy’s air defense system. It mainly targets enemy radars and paralyzes them through electronic jamming by means of hard destruction. It opens the assault corridor and creates conditions for other aircraft to carry out attacks.
Reference: J-16D electronic warfare aircraft specs
