China unveils new L-15B light-attack aircraft
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Hongdu Aviation Industry Corporation has displayed versions of the L-15B light-attack aircraft. The light-attack aircraft was first seen in footage of a May Day celebrations in Nanchang.
The L-15B is an upgraded attack variant of the L-15A. Unlike the standard version of L-15, the L-15B equipped with a pair of Ivchenko Progress AI-222K-25F jet engines with an afterburner, giving it a maximum speed of 1.4 Mach.
Also, the L-15B aircraft should be equipped with an on-board radar (allegedly with a passive phased array), a self-defense complex, an armament management complex, including a manageable one, and have 11 hardpoints.
The first L-15 prototype rolled out in September 2005 and made its maiden flight on 13 March 2006, piloted by the two of the chief test pilots of the program, Senior Colonel Yang Yao and Senior Colonel Zhang Jingting.
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