BEIJING: China has sold a number of its L-15 multirole military aircraft to the United Arab Emirates, according to Aviation Industry Corp of China, the country’s main aircraft maker.
The State-owned defense contractor said in a news release on Tuesday that it has successfully inked a deal on the L-15 with the UAE.
It said the L-15 is a new-generation, light combat/training plane that can be used to carry out air combat, ground attacks and training for aviators to fly fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets. The aircraft features high training efficiency, strong combat power and low operational and maintenance costs.
The version to be delivered to the UAE Air Force will have aerial refueling capability, according to the company. It did not disclose how many L-15s were ordered, the value of the contract or the delivery plan.
The announcement from AVIC was the first official confirmation from China about the L-15 deal. In February 2022, the UAE’s official Emirates News Agency reported that the nation’s Ministry of Defense was working to sign a contract with China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp, AVIC’s export wing, for the purchase of 12 L-15s, with the option for another 36 such aircraft in the future.
The report quoted a spokesman for the UAE military as saying that the Chinese plane is one of the top training/fighter jets in the world.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
