Liaoning carrier completes its furthest sea trial

A J-15 jet takes off from China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, as part of the recent sea trial that took the carrier the furthest yet from its home port of Shandong province's Qingdao city and lasted the longest yet in terms of time. More than 100 takeoff and landing tests were completed on the carrier before it returned to Qingdao on Saturday. PHOTO BY HU KAIBING / CHINA NEWS SERVICE

BEIJING - China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, returned to its homeport Saturday after a three-month voyage, during which it carried out major and crucial tests.

During the voyage that started on June 11, the carrier witnessed more than 100 sorties of landing and takeoff by various aircraft, including the J-15 carrier-borne fighter, the official Liberation Army Daily (Jiefang ribao) said Sunday.

J-15 fighters took off and landed on the carrier with maximum load and various weapons, the report said.

Some observers have questioned if J-15 could take off and land on the carrier with a full load of weapons.

The tests have resulted in further improvement of the carrier's flight control processes, according to the official newspaper of the People's Liberation Army.

The voyage is the longest and farthest that has been taken by the Liaoning since its maiden voyage, the report said. It is also the first since it based its homeport in Qingdao in February.

The Liaoning is China's only aircraft carrier in operation. It was refitted based on an unfinished Russian-made carrier and delivered to the navy on September 25, 2012.

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