J-15 fighter able to attack over 1,000 km

BEIJING - The J-15 fighter jet, likely to be commissioned to China's first aircraft carrier, is able to cover an area with a radius of over 1,000 km on attack missions, a chief designer said Saturday.

The jet reaches similar technical standards of the third-generation carrier-borne fighters currently in service, said Sun Cong, a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference who is in Beijing to attend the political advisory body's annual session.

"The jet is close to the US F-18 Hornet fighter jet in terms of bomb load, combat radius and mobility," Sun said in an interview with Xinhua.

Great progress has been made on the fire-control radar and guided missiles on the fighter but more has to be done to improve its electronic countermeasures, he said.

Nicknamed "Flying Shark", the J-15 fighter passed a test flight on August 31, 2009.

Last November, it conducted a successful landing on China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.