Lankan Ranger
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New PLAN Navel Aviation Base
A new airfield located 28 kilometers southwest of Huludao in northeastern China.
This airfield is likely a PLAN facility, and may represent the first facility destined to house the PLAN's J-15 carrier-based fighter.
Carrier aviation affiliation is denoted by the presence of what appears to be a ski-jump takeoff ramp, similar to that seen at Xian, being constructed adjacent to the main runway. Another potential naval-related feature is a possible mock landing area located near the north end of the main runway.
Such a feature allows carrier pilots to practice mock approaches while operating from land. What appear to be foundations for 24 individual aircraft shelters may provide a glimpse into the size of a PLAN J-15 unit, suggesting that an operational airwing may be composed of either 12 or 24 fighters.
The base may provide access to the sheltered waters of the Bohai Gulf for overwater training flights, allowing the airwing to be produced and worked-up prior to an eventual training deployment on the refurbished Varyag.
A new airfield located 28 kilometers southwest of Huludao in northeastern China.
This airfield is likely a PLAN facility, and may represent the first facility destined to house the PLAN's J-15 carrier-based fighter.
Carrier aviation affiliation is denoted by the presence of what appears to be a ski-jump takeoff ramp, similar to that seen at Xian, being constructed adjacent to the main runway. Another potential naval-related feature is a possible mock landing area located near the north end of the main runway.
Such a feature allows carrier pilots to practice mock approaches while operating from land. What appear to be foundations for 24 individual aircraft shelters may provide a glimpse into the size of a PLAN J-15 unit, suggesting that an operational airwing may be composed of either 12 or 24 fighters.
The base may provide access to the sheltered waters of the Bohai Gulf for overwater training flights, allowing the airwing to be produced and worked-up prior to an eventual training deployment on the refurbished Varyag.
