Recently released images suggest that China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) may have equipped its carrier-borne Shenyang J-15 aircraft with buddy-store fuel pods to extend the range of the air wing on board Liaoning, China's Admiral Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier. Chinese military images obtained in late December show that the J-15 has carriage tested and landed on Liaoning carrying a centre-mounted fuel pod resembling the Russian Sakhalin UPAZ-1A. The hose-drogue pod provides for aerial refuelling between two aircraft and allows the J-15 to either increase its combat range by carrying more fuel or deploy more ordnance in place of fuel weight.
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