Double 055 Escort! How Strong is the "Luxury Version" of the Liaoning Carrier Group? Expert Analysis

Recently, the People's Liberation Army Navy organized the Liaoning aircraft carrier group to conduct training in relevant waters of the Western Pacific. This is a routine training exercise organized according to the annual plan, aimed at testing and enhancing the troops' level of combat readiness training, continuously improving their mission capability, in accordance with relevant international laws and practices, and not targeting specific countries or objectives.

On the 14th, Japan's Ministry of Defense announced that on the 13th, the Liaoning aircraft carrier group passed through the waters between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island, sailing southeast. According to photos released by the Japanese side, this Liaoning aircraft carrier group also includes two Type 055 destroyers, the Anshan and Wuxi, and one Type 052D destroyer, the Huainan.

In conjunction with the Liaoning aircraft carrier group, the Japanese side also reported on our military's aerial reconnaissance capabilities, including a Y-9 electronic reconnaissance aircraft and a WZ-7 high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. Some netizens speculate that the WZ-7 and Y-9 are jointly forming a situational awareness network around the Liaoning aircraft carrier group.

Which types of carrier-based aircraft are accompanying the Liaoning as it ventures into the Western Pacific is a topic of public interest. In June of this year, after the Liaoning aircraft carrier group completed over 40 days of long-range combat training and returned to its home port, it publicly displayed multiple J-15T carrier-based aircraft taking off and landing on the Liaoning for the first time.

The J-15T is a single-seat, heavy, catapult-launched carrier-based fighter jet independently developed by China. It is an upgraded version based on the J-15 "Flying Shark," enhancing the avionics and weapon systems and improving the aircraft platform's performance, further emphasizing carrier-based characteristics and sea suitability. The types of carrier-based aircraft that will be used during this training by the Liaoning aircraft carrier group may only be revealed after its return.

In the future, there may be more than two Type 055 destroyers joining the carrier group.

Military commentator Du Wenlong: According to different operational plans and task environments, the composition of an aircraft carrier group is a complex scientific system. This time we are using a luxurious version, which is a double 055 plus a 052D. If the next step in the expansion process forms a super luxurious combat formation, it is possible to have more than two Type 055 destroyers, so this time we are facing a different environment, and the threats during long-range training are also different. This time, with the layout of double 055s in the entire formation, it indicates that our capabilities for presence, strike, and comprehensive control in the open sea will undergo significant changes.

Through the Chinese Shield system, targets can be accurately located.

Through the firepower strike system, significant firepower threats can be posed to various targets.

Through the comprehensive support system, the entire formation can remain operational and capable of winning in the open sea.

WZ-7 + Y-9 electronic reconnaissance aircraft = external "carrier-based early warning aircraft"

Military commentator Du Wenlong: Analyzing from the basic tactical and technical indicators of the two types of aircraft, it is evident that they play the role of external carrier-based early warning aircraft. Therefore, if different military branches and different aircraft types conduct joint training and mixed training in the open sea, they can achieve a strong comprehensive combat effect.

These two types of aircraft have strong electronic reconnaissance capabilities, optical reconnaissance capabilities, and situational awareness capabilities. If they can be combined with the Liaoning carrier group, especially with carrier-based fighter jets, the offensive and defensive capabilities of the combat formation they form in the open sea will reach new heights.