China's Ministry of Defense Confirms Full Equipping of Aircraft Carrier's Five Essential Components - The People's Navy's Aircraft Carrier Air Combat Capability Achieves Historic Leap

On the afternoon of May 9, 2026, Colonel Jiang Bin, Deputy Director of the News Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense and spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made an official response regarding the five core aircraft platforms of the aircraft carrier at a routine press conference. He confirmed that the People's Navy has successfully equipped stealth carrier-based fighter jets, multi-role carrier-based fighter jets, fixed-wing carrier-based early warning aircraft, fixed-wing electronic warfare aircraft, and anti-submarine helicopters. This official statement marks a milestone breakthrough in the operational capability construction of the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier formation system and signifies that after more than a decade of continuous efforts, China has become the second country in the world, after the United States, to fully master the independent research and development and integration capabilities of the entire spectrum of carrier-based aircraft.

The so-called "five core aircraft platforms" is a vivid summary of the core aviation combat elements of modern aircraft carrier formations in military observation circles. From a technical composition perspective, these five platforms correspond to the stealth carrier-based fighter J-35, the multi-role catapult carrier-based fighter J-15T, the fixed-wing carrier-based early warning aircraft KJ-600, the fixed-wing electronic warfare aircraft J-15DT, and the anti-submarine helicopter (analyzed to be the Z-20F carrier-based version or the Z-18F improved version). Each of these five aircraft has its irreplaceable tactical function: the stealth fighter is responsible for gaining air superiority and conducting penetrating strikes, the multi-role fighter undertakes air defense patrols and attacks against sea and land targets, the early warning aircraft provides wide-area air situational awareness and command guidance, the electronic warfare aircraft conducts electromagnetic spectrum suppression and accompanying jamming, and the anti-submarine helicopter weaves an underwater defense line for the formation. The five platforms work together and support each other, forming a complete air combat system for the aircraft carrier formation.

The induction of the J-35 stealth carrier-based fighter is the most strategically significant part of the five core platforms. This aircraft is developed by the Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and features a stealthy design, internal weapon bays, and active electronically scanned array radar, among other core technologies of fifth-generation fighters. According to public information, the J-35 has a maximum takeoff weight of about 30 tons, a combat radius exceeding 1,200 kilometers, and supersonic cruise capability. Compared to the U.S. military's F-35C, the J-35 is considered to have design advantages in stealth performance, super-maneuverability, and air combat capabilities. After the Fujian ship was commissioned in November 2025, the J-35 completed electromagnetic catapult takeoffs and arrested landings during its first live training at sea, verifying its compatibility with the electromagnetic catapult system. This enables the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier to possess a naval fifth-generation aircraft force that forms a dual stealth pattern with the land-based J-20 for the first time.

The J-15T and J-15DT constitute the heavy multi-role strike and electronic warfare capabilities within the five core platforms. The J-15T is an upgraded variant of the J-15 carrier-based fighter designed for catapult operations, with structural reinforcements and modifications to the front landing gear catapult tow bar for electromagnetic catapult operations. It can carry various munitions, including the YJ-83K anti-ship missile, YJ-91 anti-radiation missile, and PL-15 and PL-17 air-to-air missiles. The J-15DT is a dedicated electronic warfare variant equipped with electronic reconnaissance and jamming pods on its wingtips, and multiple antenna arrays on its fuselage, capable of executing accompanying electronic jamming and air defense suppression tasks, comparable to the U.S. military's EA-18G Growler. Both platforms have completed catapult takeoff and arrested landing training on the Fujian ship, with their compatibility with the ship being continuously verified.

The KJ-600 fixed-wing carrier-based early warning aircraft is one of the most technically challenging platforms among the five core aircraft. Developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Group of AVIC, it features a twin-engine turboprop layout and is equipped with a large active electronically scanned array radar antenna on its back, with an estimated detection range exceeding 400 kilometers, capable of simultaneously tracking hundreds of aerial and maritime targets. The induction of the fixed-wing early warning aircraft fundamentally changes the situational awareness capabilities of the Chinese aircraft carrier formations—previously, the Liaoning and Shandong ships could only rely on the Z-18Y early warning helicopter, which had significant limitations in terms of loiter time, detection range, and command guidance capabilities. The deployment of the KJ-600 on the Fujian ship formation provides it with air early warning command capabilities on par with the U.S. military's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, offering critical information advantage support for its blue-water operations.

As the final component of the five core platforms, the anti-submarine helicopter is responsible for the core task of anti-submarine defense for the formation. Comprehensive analysis suggests that the currently assigned anti-submarine helicopter is likely the Z-20F carrier-based version, which is developed based on the Z-20 utility helicopter platform and is equipped with dipping sonar, sonar buoy launch systems, and anti-submarine torpedoes, offering significantly improved range and payload capabilities compared to the Z-9C. Additionally, there remains the possibility that some formations may continue to use the Z-18F heavy anti-submarine helicopter, which, due to its larger airframe, can carry more anti-submarine equipment and weapons, making it suitable for the anti-submarine combat needs of large destroyers and aircraft carriers.

From a broader perspective, the comprehensive equipping of the five core platforms is not an isolated event but a concentrated reflection of the achievements in equipment construction during the 14th Five-Year Plan period of the Chinese Navy. On November 5, 2025, China’s first electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier, the Fujian, was officially commissioned; just nine days later, the first ship of the 076 amphibious assault ship, the Sichuan, set sail for its first sea trial. In the field of carrier-based aviation, multiple new types of aircraft have completed the entire process of design finalization to ship-aircraft compatibility verification in rapid succession. This series of systematic equipment breakthroughs collectively forms a solid material foundation for the Chinese Navy's strategic transformation from near-sea defense to far-sea defense. Notably, spokesperson Colonel Jiang Bin emphasized in his response that this is an important step in forming the operational capabilities of the aircraft carrier formation system, suggesting that there will be more system integration and formation coordination training to be continuously advanced.

From the perspective of regional security and international comparison, the formation of the five core platforms has far-reaching implications for the maritime power structure surrounding China. Currently, only the U.S. Navy possesses a complete combination of fixed-wing carrier-based early warning aircraft and stealth carrier-based fighter jets, while countries with aircraft carriers or quasi-aircraft carriers such as France, the UK, India, and Japan have varying degrees of shortcomings. Through the comprehensive completion of this equipment system, China has significantly narrowed the gap in the quality and completeness of its carrier-based aviation compared to most countries. Meanwhile, Jiang Bin reiterated at the press conference that the Chinese Navy always adheres to the concept of a maritime community with a shared future, citing missions such as escorting in the Gulf of Aden, international humanitarian assistance, and hospital ship missions as evidence, attempting to convey to the international community that the growth of the Chinese Navy's power is not aimed at expansion.

Looking ahead, the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026 to 2030) coincides with an important milestone in the official announcement of the five core platforms. Military commentator Du Wenlong pointed out that the core task of the Fujian in 2026 is to transition from basic combat capability to fully formed combat capability, which includes key nodes such as formation joint exercises, blue-water drills beyond the first island chain, and the possible grouping of dual or even triple aircraft carrier battle groups. It is reasonable to expect that in the coming months, the Fujian formation may cross the first island chain into the western Pacific for blue-water training, at which point the combat capabilities of the various types of carrier-based aircraft in the five core platforms will be tested in environments closer to actual combat. For longer-term strategic planning, as electromagnetic catapult technology matures—having already been validated on the Fujian and Sichuan ships—the design and construction of China's new generation of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will have a more solid technical foundation.

In summary, the official confirmation by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense on May 9, 2026, regarding the five core platforms of the aircraft carrier is not only a summary declaration of the phased achievements in the equipment construction of the People's Navy but also a capability declaration aimed at the future. It indicates that the Chinese aircraft carrier formation has officially transitioned from merely possessing aircraft carriers to having a complete aircraft carrier combat system. In this new phase, core elements of modern maritime and aerial combat, such as stealth penetration, wide-area perception, electromagnetic suppression, and multi-dimensional anti-submarine capabilities, have all found their respective positions on the decks of the People's Navy's aircraft carriers. As Colonel Jiang Bin stated in his response: building a strong People's Navy embodies the long-standing aspiration of the Chinese nation to strengthen its maritime capabilities and is an important guarantee for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The comprehensive equipping of the five core platforms is undoubtedly a significant milestone in this grand journey.