Military Watch:

Chinese J-15 Fighter Locks Onto Japanese F-15 During Carrier Operations: Which Would Have an Advantage in Combat?

Asia-Pacific , Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft

Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff

December-7th-2025

---

Japan Air Self Defense Force F-15J

A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy J-15 carrier based fighter operating from the aircraft carrier Liaoning formed a radar lock on a Japanese F-15 fighter over international waters southeast of Okinawa Island on December 6. Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi quickly confirmed the incident, with the Japanese government issuing a protest through diplomatic and defence channels. This was the first time Japan publicly disclosed an incident in which a Chinese military aircraft directed its radar at a Japanese aircraft. The incident follows a significant rise in tensions between Tokyo and Beijing, after Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, threatened to intervene militarily in the ongoing conflict between the People’s Republic of China on the Chinese mainland, and the Republic of China based on Taiwan, which have for decades remained in a state of civil war. 

J-15B Fighters and J-15D Electronic Attack Jets on Chinese Carrier Liaoning

The Liaoning is one of three aircraft carries currently in service in the People’s Liberation Army Navy, and was confirmed to be sailing near Kubashima Island, west of Okinawa, on December 5. The following day the aircraft carrier passed between Okinawa and Miyakojima Island along with three destroyers, before proceeding into the Pacific Ocean. The Liaoning and its sister ship the Shandong were revealed in November 2024 to have significantly improved the capabilities of their air wings with the integration of new J-15B ‘4+ generation’ fighters and supporting J-15D electronic attack jets. The J-15B is far superior to the baseline J-15s that first joined the fleet in the early 2010s, with improvements including higher use of more advanced composite materials for a lighter and more durable airframe, use of a more advanced AESA radar, and integration of advanced stealth coatings, and use of some of the world's most sophisticated avionics and electronic warfare systems.

While the J-15B a close contender for the title of the world’s most capable pre-fifth generation fighter class, the F-15J by contrast is one of the oldest fourth generation fighter types still in service anywhere in the world. The fighters first entered service in 1981, and were based closely a design that first joined the U.S. Air Force six years prior in 1975. The Japanese fleet still largely relies on AIM-7 air-to-air missiles for beyond visual range combat, which are considered close to three decades beyond the Chinese PL-15 and PL-16 that equip the J-15B in their sophistication. The Japanese aircraft not only carry much smaller radars, but these rely on mechanically scanned arrays that have long since been considered obsolete, and are relatively straightforward to jam for modern electronic warfare suites.

J-15, J-15B and J-15D Fighters Operating From the Carriers Liaoning and Shandong

The outcome of a clash between Chinese J-15B and Japanese F-15J fighters over the Pacific would be highly one sided, although Japan could potentially seek to counterbalance Chinese advantages by deploying E-767 Airborne Warning and Control Systems to bridge the discrepancy in situations awareness. Although China’s new aircraft carrier the Fujian deploys KJ-600 Airborne Warning and Control Systems, the air wing of the Liaoning does not. Nevertheless, the age of the E-767, which uses a radar from the 1980s, seriously limits the degree of support it can provide, particularly compared to modern systems such as the E-7 and Chinese KJ-500. The system is expected to be relatively straightforward to evade should the Chinese fighters be deployed with support from J-15D electronic attack jets, which were developed specifically to conceal fighter units from radar detection in much the same way as the latest variants of the U.S. Navy E/A-18G.