The newest Chinese J-16D electronic warfare jet flew within Taiwan’s southwest Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Monday.
The J-16D is a newly-designed electronic warfare aircraft that integrates the latest electronic attack technology. It is capable of disrupting, deceiving or denying a broad range of military electronic systems, including radars and communications.
According to Senior Colonel Shen Jinke, spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA Air Force, the J-16D serves to further improve the PLAAF’s electronic offensive capabilities and guarantee its expansion of operational range and strategic transformation.
The newest electronic attack jet was developed in the 2010s and debuted last year at the Zhuhai airshow.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, a pair of PLA’s J-16D aircraft entered the ADIZ on 24 January along with eath J-16 multirole fighters, anti-submarine warfare aircraft on Y-8 platform, and two H-6K bombers.
“13 PLA aircraft (J-16*8, Y-8 ASW, H-6*2 and J-16D*2) entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ on January 24, 2022,” said in a statement.
Taiwanese officials said that their responses to the PLA sorties included the scrambling of combat aircraft, the employment of air defense assets to further monitor the situation, and the issuing of warning messages to the Chinese aircraft via radio.
