China’s expanding line-up of multirole, all-weather J-16 fighter jets will help the air force to launch strikes deep into enemy territory and destroy key strategic assets like airfields and bridges, military analysts say.

Military experts said the J-16, with its large payload and long range, could transform China’s defensive air force into an offensive one.

“Before the J-16, the PLA has had to rely on a limited number of Russian-built Su-30s, whereas the indigenous J-10 lacks the range and payload to qualify as a true deep-strike fighter,” said Collin Koh, a research fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.