Modern performance claims are treated cautiously because states rarely disclose exact capabilities. The J-15 reportedly first flew in 2009, entered service in 2013, and numbered roughly eighty in-service airframes at the time of the lecture. It belongs broadly to the 4.5-generation category, but comparison with the Super Hornet can obscure the different maturity of the two programs. For China, it was a first operational carrier-fighter generation and a way to learn how to build, support, and employ aircraft at sea.
Chapter · 0:46-3:21
Why the J-15 matters as China's first carrier fighter
The J-15 is a 4.5-generation aircraft and China's first operational carrier fighter. Its greater value was the experience required to build and operate a carrier air arm.