China still years away from full carrier squadron - analyst

25.10.2012 Pacific Sentinel

It will take several more years for China to establish a fully operational carrier air wing, says Roger Cliff, a specialist from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, according to a piece by Wendell Minnick in the US-based Defense News.

Though photos of a Shenyang J-15 Flying Shark fighter flying above the new Chinese carrier Liaoning have been posted on websites operated by the Chinese government or military, Cliff pointed out that none of the pictures show a tailhook deployed on the jet and nearly all of the photos showed the J-15 in the air behind the Liaoning's ski-jump flight deck. "So it clearly had not done a takeoff from the ship," said Cliff, "more likely a touch-and-go or fly-by."

Read the full story at Want China Times