China's updated "flying shark" fighter jet makes debut at air show

The latest models of China's upgraded J-15 fighter jet series made a spectacular debut with an impressive aerobatic performance on the opening day of the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China, in Zhuhai City of south China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday.

During the airshow's opening ceremony, a formation of three aircraft, consisting of one J-15D and two J-15T fighter jets, performed an arrested landing and aerial 'partner refueling' demonstration, highlighting the advanced capabilities of these carrier-based aircraft.

"Aerial 'partner refueling' refers to the mutual refueling between fighter jets, which is highly valuable when there is a lack of land-based refueling support in distant seas. This practice effectively extends the operational range of aircraft carriers, prolongs the airborne time of carrier-based aircraft, and significantly boosts the combat capabilities of the aircraft carrier formation," said Chinese Navy expert Li Jian.

Completing an arrested landing is a vital skill that naval pilots must possess in bringing the aircraft to a stop on the short space of a ship deck. During the airshow, the J-15D pilot skillfully guided the aircraft through the landing process, and brought the aircraft to a halt at the designated position to the acclaim of spectators. "Compared to traditional aircraft landings, arrested landings for carrier-based fighter jets are significantly different. On a warship, with its short deck runway and minimal margin for error, there is no room for a conventional go-around. Therefore, to ensure that an aircraft can swiftly take off in case it misses the arresting cable during landing, a unique approach is used. Pilots increase throttle, maintain thrust, decrease speed, and execute a gradual descent to facilitate a rapid takeoff if necessary," said Li.

The J-15, also known as "Flying Shark," is an updated version of the fourth-generation carrier-based fighter jet independently developed by China for its navy, which completed its maiden flight back from the Liaoning aircraft carrier back in 2012.

China's updated "flying shark" fighter jet makes debut at air show

The total profits of light industrial enterprises above the designated size in China (firms with annual business revenue of at least 20 million yuan) exceeded one trillion yuan (about 138.67 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-September period, according to the China National Light Industry Council.

Driven by supportive policies aimed at boosting the consumption, such as consumer goods trade-in programs, China's light industrial economy has been operating smoothly. The domestic and foreign trade markets are expanding steadily, and investment is recovering rapidly.

In the first three quarters, the operating income of light industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 16.52 trillion yuan, with profits totaling 1.02 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.2 percent.

Among them, the output growth rates for household freezers, air conditioners and refrigerators stood at 14 percent, 8 percent, and 7.5 percent, respectively, and industries such as papermaking, batteries and furniture saw profits maintaining a double-digit growth.

The market size of light industry expanded steadily, with exports reaching 682.16 billion U.S. dollars, up 2.6 percent year on year.

Profits of China's light industrial enterprises above designated size exceeds one trl yuan in Jan-Sept