The Shenyang J-16 Qianlong (Chinese for hidden dragon) is a Chinese all-weather 4+/4,5 generation supersonic twin-seat, twin-engine, multirole fighter based on the Russian Su-27 fighter and built by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).
The Shenyang J-16 is a multirole combat airplane capable of supersonic flight and developed by the Chinese Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.
Designated as a fighter (Jian) and so sporting the J-16 designation (as opposed to fighter-bomber, Jian Hong qi, like the Xi’an JH-7), the Qianlong is instead more of a multirole strike fighter, derived from the air superiority fighter Shenyang J-11 Yinglong (“responsive dragon”), itself a copy/derivate of the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27 multirole/air superiority fighter.
About the Shenyang J-16
The road that brought to China producing the Shenyang J-16 Qianlong began in 1969 in the Soviet Union.
Learning of the American F-X program that would produce the F-15 Eagle, the USSR in response started the Perspektivnyy Frontovoy Istrebitel (“Prospective Frontline Fighter”) or PFI Program.
Splitting PFI into a Light and a Heavy variant, the program ended up producing the MiG-29 for the former and the Su-27 and its multiple derivates for the latter.
Capable of reaching speeds above Mach 2, of carrying 4,400 kg (9,700 lb) of ordnance and of executing complex acrobatics like the Pugachev’s Cobra maneuver, the Su-27 (known as “Flanker” for NATO) however had a problematic and extended development, first flying on 20 May 1977, but suffering from multiple crashes until the early 1980s and only entering service with the Soviet VVS in a redesigned fashion in 1985, initially only in limited numbers.
The first export variants of the Flanker, both single-seat and twin-seater, were developed from 1991, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia developed further version of the plane, including the Su-33 naval based variant in service since 1998, and the most recent air superiority variant, the Su-35, introduced from 2014.
The export variant of the original Su-27 found buyers among several countries with a tradition of operating Soviet-designed equipment.
China, facing the Western arms embargoes that followed the suppression of the Tiananmen square protests, turned to Russia and in 1992 became the first export customer of the Flanker, having selected the plane over the MiG-29.
In 1996, the PRC also signed a $1.2 billion agreement to license-produce Flankers, dubbed J-11A locally.
The production started facing many issues, with the first J-11A planes needing a rebuild with Russian technicians, but after overcoming the initial problems in the early 2000s, it later floundered when China started producing un-licensed copies, the J-11B (Flanker-L) fighters.
Designed with Chinese-made components, the first J-11Bs were unveiled as mockups in 2002, while prototypes followed in 2006.
Around 440 J-11s of every type have been produced as of 2024.
At the same time it was buying the Su-27, China wa salso acquiring the larger Su-30 multirole air superiority fighter (initially known as Su-27PU and derivate of the original “Flanker”).
In late 1999 the PLAAF signed a $1.85 billion contract to purchase Su-30MKK fighters, with a further batch worth $1.5 billion in July 2001 and a third one in January 2003.
Just like it did with the J-11, China soon developed an indigenous version of the plane.
Creating a hybrid airframe, using a revised version of the twin-seater J-11BS with upgraded WS-10B engines, a glass cockpit, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and modifications carried over from the Su-30MKK (in-flight refuelling probe, stronger landing gear and additional fuel capacity), Shenyang started producing the J-16 Qianlong
The J-16 was first flown around 2011-2012 and the first production planes reached the PLAAF in August 2014, reaching full service in 2015 and being officially revealed in 2017 during the People’s Liberation Army’s 90th anniversary parade.
The J-16D Electronic Warfare variant had its first flight in December 2015, sporting wingtip EW pods and an internal EW system replacing the IRST and 30mm cannon. It was later officially
Estimates of J-16 production vary and are clouded in typical Chinese secrecy, with 245 airframes believed to be in service in 2022 and IISS later estimating over 280 airplanes in 2023.
2024 estimates place the J-16 fleet at over 350 airframes, all in service with the PLAAF, making it not only the most capable Flanker variant in service with China, but also the most numerically important one.
The J-16, like most Chinese modern planes, have not seen combat, but have been very active in the skies near the PRC.
On May 26, 2022 a J-16 intercepted a RAAF P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft in international waters over the South China Sea, releasing flares and chaff into its flight path, with some of them ingested by the P-8’s engines.
On May 26, 2023, a J-16 made a fly-by cutting directly in front of a US Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft over South China Sea, forcing the American plane to dangerously fly through its jet wash.
J-16s are also frequently deployed in the Taiwan strait and around the island during exercises and incursion around Taiwan, often crossing the median line which usually is considered as a boundary, and around other neighboring countries’ airspace
Shenyang J-16 Qianlong: Variants
The variants of J-16 Quianlong are mentioned below.
Shenyang J-16 Qianlong
Original variant, with J-11BS (Su-27) airframe, modifications from the Su-30MKK, WS-10B engines and AESA radar.
Shenyang J-16D
Electronic warfare variant with wingtip EW pods and internal EW system in place of IRST and 30 mm cannon.
Shenyang J-16 Zhi sheng
Reportedly, a J-16 variant with the backseat pilot replaced by an artificial intelligence system called Zhi sheng (“intelligence victory”) that has been undergoing testing at Shenyang Aircraft Corporation since 2021.
Shenyang J-16 Qianlong: Operators
The J-16 is in service only with the PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force, Chinese Air Force).
The number of produced airframes is unknown, but estimates vary between 245 in 2022 to over 350 fighters as of 2024.
Of the over 57 fighter brigades of the PLAAF, at least eight units currently operate the J-16.
Shenyang J-16 Qianlong: Specifications
The specifications of the Qianlong are mentioned below.
General Characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 21.9 m (71 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 14.7 m (48 ft 3 in)
- Height: 6.36 m (20 ft 10 in)
- Empty weight: 17,700 kg (39,000 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 35,000 kg (77,100 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Shenyang WS-10B afterburning turbofans, 135 kN (30,000 lbf) with afterburner
Performance
- Maximum speed: 2,120 km/h (1,320 mph or 1,140 kn) / Mach 2
- Range: 3,000 km (1,900 mi or 1,600 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 17,300 m (56,800 ft)
Armament
- Guns: 1 x 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 autocannon inside the fuselage with 150 rounds
- Hardpoints: 12 x external hardpoints
- Missiles: PL-9 short-range IR-guided air-to-air missiles, PL-10 (CH-AA-9 for NATO) short-range, infrared-homing / active radar homing air-to-air missiles, PL-12 (CH-AA-7 Adze for NATO) beyond-visual-range active radar-guided air-to-air missiles, PL-15 (CH-AA-10 Abaddon for NATO) long-range active radar-guided air-to-air missiles, PL-17 (CH-AA-12, Auger for NATO, also known as PL-20) very-long-range active radar-guided air-to-air missiles, YJ-83 (CSS-N-8 Saccade for NATO) subsonic anti-ship cruise missiles, AKF-98 standoff land-attack cruise missiles, KD-88 standoff land attack missile, YJ-91 anti-radiation air-to-surface cruise missile
- Bombs (including the LS-500J Laser guided bomb) and rockets
Shenyang J-16 Qianlong Milestones
- Perspektivnyy Frontovoy Istrebitel Program: 1969
- Su-27 first flight: 20 May 1977
- Su-27 prototype first crash: 7 July 1978
- Su-27 introduction: 22 June 1985
- Su-30 first flight: 31 December 1989
- Su-30 introduction: 1992
- China buys the Su-27: 1992
- China signs license production of J-11: 1996
- China buys the Su-30: 1999
- J-11B prototypes: 2006
- J-16 first flight: 2011-2012
- J-16 introduced to PLAAF: August 2014
- J-16 in service: 2015
- J-16D first flight: December 2015
- J-16 revealed: 2017
