J-15 fighter able to attack over 1,000 km

BEIJING - The J-15 fighter jet, likely to be commissioned to China's first aircraft carrier, is able to cover an area with a radius of over 1,000 km on attack missions, a chief designer said Saturday.

The jet reaches similar technical standards of the third-generation carrier-borne fighters currently in service, said Sun Cong, a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference who is?in Beijing?to attend the political advisory body's annual session.

"The jet is close to the US F-18 Hornet fighter jet in terms of bomb load, combat radius and mobility," Sun said in an interview with Xinhua.

Great progress has been made on the fire-control radar and guided missiles on the fighter but more has to be done to improve its electronic countermeasures, he said.

Nicknamed "Flying Shark", the J-15 fighter passed a test flight on August 31, 2009.

Last November, it conducted a successful landing on China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.