February 10, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Chinese Carrier-based Fighter Seen Equipped with New Supersonic Anti-ship Missile
The mainstay of Chinese carrier air wings was seen with a new anti-ship missile potentially capable of striking targets more than 1,000 kilometers away at supersonic speeds, according to recent media reports. A People’s...
Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy J-15 Fighter intercepting a Japanese P-3C Orion, June 2025. Japan Self-Defense Force photo The mainstay of Chinese carrier air wings was seen with a new anti-ship missile potentially capable of striking targets more than 1,000 kilometers away at supersonic speeds, according to recent media reports. A People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) J-15 was spotted fielding two YJ-15s, one of Beijing’s latest anti-ship missiles, in images circulated last week.
Revealed during China’s 2025 military parade, the missile joins China’s existing stockpiles of subsonic YJ-83 and supersonic YJ-12 anti-ship cruise missiles, which have been deployed by Chinese fighters and bombers exercising for contingencies around Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan. While China has yet to release the missile’s specifications, Janes’ analysis claimed that new air-launched anti-ship missiles can strike targets at ranges of 1,200 to 1,800 kilometers away and achieve speeds in excess of Mach 5 – a significant increase from the preceding 500-kilometer range of the YJ-12. Equipping PLAN’s heavy carrier fighter with these missiles can increase the striking power of Beijing’s naval aviation and complement existing strike capabilities.