The J-16D has made possibly its first appearance in flight with PL-15 missiles, after being previously shown with air-to-air weapons only in static displays at airshows.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) J-16D electronic warfare (EW) aircraft was spotted flying with two PL-15 air-to-air missiles (AAM) for possibly the first time in unofficial images that appeared on Mar. 17, 2026. The J-16D is the specialized variant of the J-16, the heavily modified Chinese derivative of the Russian Su-27, which is notably missing the Infrared Search and Track (IRST) and the internally mounted 30 mm gun and includes wingtip pods for EW equipment.
Leading Chinese military aviation analyst Andreas Rupprecht said this is believed to be the first image “of a J-16D carrying two PL-15 AAMs under its wings and three RKZ930-xx jammer-pods.” A third pod is carried on the centerline between the two engines, as denoted by the arrow in the cover image.
It must be noted however that the aircraft could have been flying with the AAM for a while, and possibly even conducted test fires of the weapon. In fact, the PL-15 is already integrated on the standard J-16 variant and, although there was no indication regarding the specialized EW variant, it is likely the capability was retained.
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Moreover, the PL-15 looks nearly identical to the anti-radar LD-8A missile, which has been derived from the AAM, and Rupprecht also wondered if the J-16D has carried that missile in the past. The aircraft has also been spotted with six different types of jamming pods over the last two years, in varying combinations and placements – two pods on the wingtips, two under the wings and two under the engines.
