The aircraft carrier strike group led by the Shandong returned to the South China Sea. This is reported by the United States Naval Institute, citing a statement by the Ministry of Self-Defense of Japan.
The Shandong aircraft carrier was in the Philippine Sea on Wednesday and Thursday. During the exercise, J-15 fighters and Z-18 helicopters took off from the deck of the ship. By Friday, the aircraft carrier strike group returned to the South China Sea.
The destroyer JS Ariake (DD 109) of the Japanese Maritime Defense Force was watching Chinese ships in the Philippine Sea. The Shandong was joined by destroyers CNS Guilin (164) and CNS Changsha (173), CNS Xianning (500) and CNS Xuchang (536), and the CNS Chaganhu (905).
On Thursday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported that 10 Chinese ships were spotted near the island nation, and 40 aircraft crossed the centerline of the Taiwan Strait. Some of them entered the air defense identification zone.
The Shandong is the largest aircraft carrier of the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China. It is 315 meters long, 75 meters wide, has a displacement of 60,000 tons and can reach a speed of 57 km/h.
The aviation group includes Z-18Y, Z-18F, Z18A, Z-8JH and Z-9S helicopters, as well as J-15D electronic warfare aircraft and J-15 fighters. The latter can carry YJ-83 anti-ship missiles, PL-12 anti-radar missiles and KD-88 air-to-ground missiles. The deck can also accommodate drones with vertical takeoff and landing.
