The aircraft in the yellow frame does not have the “flying shark” symbol and the “八一” military emblem, while the aircraft in the red frame has a larger tail-tip radome and uses AL-31F engines.
In a recent Chinese official report, a unique single-seat J-15 fighter jet appeared in the hangar, with its wings, tail and engine vents all covered with tarpaulin, which is different from other J-15 carrier-borne fighter jets in the same hangar, and is believed to be J-15T fighter.
Besides, this jet has optical tracking markings (commonly referred to as “BMW logos”) used for test flight observation on its pendant tail and ventral fin, indicating that it is a prototype aircraft. And among the prototypes of the single-seat series of J-15 fighter, apart from the basic No. 554 and 555 prototypes, No. 571 J-15T (“T” stands for Chinese pinyin “Tanshe” which means “catapult launch”) is also painted in naval gray.
No. 554 prototype has the “flying shark” symbol on the tail, No. 555 prototype has the “八一” military emblem on the tail, and the radomes of the two tails are dark; while the one in this hangar does not match such features
No. 571 J-15T fighter jet has a “BMW logo” on the vertical tail, without the “Flying Shark” symbol and “八一” military emblem. Note that the jet uses the homemade “Taihang”engines
According to Chinese military analyst Zhenchadian, it is very likely that this aircraft is No. 571 J-15T, and its “idle” parking state also coincides with the J-15T which has already undergone thousands of catapult launch tests in different external configurations, proving that the catapult launch technology and the supporting products can be used to improve the J-15 and complete its stage mission. As for the J-15 with a large tail-tip radome and no military insignia, it is easier to judge – this is the J-15 electronic warfare prototype that appeared at the shipboard training base last year.
The enlarged vertical tail radome is an unnoticed but highly recognizable detail of the J-15 electronic warfare type
In fact, except for the inherited tri-wing layout, folding wings and flat tail, reinforced front landing gear and tailhook, the J-15 electronic warfare aircraft differs from the J-15/15S in a lot of details, only before the cockpit, the central airspeed tube of the radome has been abolished, and the length of the radome is obviously shorter than other “flankers”, and the IRST/optical radar has been abolished in front of the cockpit.