China is ready to show off its electronic-attack aircraft on public display at the upcoming Zhuhai airshow.
Being the first of its kind, the Shenyang J-16D has been parked at the static display area of the airshow in Guangdong Province ahead of the event, which will start from September till October 3 next to the city’s airport.
The J-16D is a twin-seater based on the J-16 multirole strike fighter, which is a development of Russia’s Sukhoi Su-30 MK series and the J-11 B intercopter.
Pictures of the J-16D aircraft clicked on the ground and published online show that it has some remarkable differences from J-16, the most prominent of which are a pair of pods mounted on its wingtips.
Other typical differences from the J-16 include a shorter nose radome suggesting that a smaller radar has been installed, along with the lack of cannon mounted on the right side of the fuselage and the deletion of an infra-red search and track system on the front of the canopy.
A spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry has said that other new aircraft type will make their debut at this year’s show, which has been delayed from its original date of November 2020 due to the pandemic.
