PLAAF J-11 Fighter Keeps US Patrol Aircraft in Check Over South China Sea

(Photo : STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The PLA Air Force J-11 fighter intercepted a US US Navy reconnaissance jet patrolling in the South China Sea as evidence of tensions in the region between China and the US.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) deploys J-11 fighters in the South China Sea (SCS) to shadow US patrol aircraft trying to get info on Chinese forces, described as a serial harasser that regularly shoos away the US recon craft making increased forays in the South China Sea.

PLAAF Fighter Intercepts US Navy Reconnaissance Jet

In one of the intercepts last February 24, the Chinese Flanker with lethal air-to-air missiles when it kept abreast of a P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. Onboard was the press when the standoff occurred, reported The EurAsian Times.

Both planes kept parallel flight for 15 minutes, but the jet at one point would veer close to 500 feet off the port wing as the spy plane continued on its course, noted CNN.

While in flight, the PLA Air Force Flanker has its lethal armament seen at all times, which the occupants of the US recon plane comprehended. Increased tension as the US acts provocatively in the SCS support by its allies.

On December 2022, a US Air Force (USAF) RC-135 aircraft caused a dangerous interaction with another J-11 over the South China Sea, citing Reuters.

This time the Chinese pilot went to ten feet, prompting the pilot to maneuver the recon plane with the threat of collision. The Commander of the USN recon plane said the Chinese fighters are engaging US aircraft decisively. A video is allegedly taken from the R-135 to capture what happened over the SCS. The Flanker is nudging slowly to the US recon plane from its left, then shifting to the front of it.

South China Sea Tensions

Lethally armed Chinese warplanes have four air-to-air missiles with two PL-12 for long-range standoff attacks. Other missiles are dual PL-8s that are optimized for very close-range dogfights. One incident with the Chinese J-16, a better version of the J-11, had aggressively intercepted an Australian P-8 aircraft. This time release radar chaff was thrown into the P-8s engine.

The Shenyang J-11 had a dual engine with one crew in the cockpit based on the Russian Su-27SK Flanker developed by China and is called Flanker or Flanker B+, per Military Today.

The popularity of the US F-16 Fighting Falcon is the template for the PLAAF to develop its homegrown fighter or better. Initial attempts in the 70s used the Soviet MiG-19 powered by a British Rolls-Royce Spey 512 engine. It took another attempt to be successful, according to sources.

About twenty years later, China bought several Su-27s in 1990, with the Soviet Union, as mentioned by Autoevolution. In 1991, the USSR was broken up, and the China deal was the last ever.

Getting a topline Soviet fighter allowed the PLA to be equal to NATO's best fighters. Another deal in 1996 wherein Russia and China built 200 Su-27s using kits to complete a pre-assembled airframe. They became the earliest J-11s to enter service with the PLAAF, and the J-11B 'Flaming Dragon' followed later with more variants later on.

The PLAAF J-11 fighter has evolved a long way to keep on US Patrol Aircraft in the SCS. Even their armament shows the PLAAF means business with more upgrades to come.