On November 29th and 30th, China and Russia conducted joint exercises involving strategic bombers. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force deployed J-16 fighter jets and Y-20 tanker aircraft to escort the H-6 bombers. The J-16 fighters made a rare crossing of the Miyako Strait into the Pacific Ocean. However, this joint exercise between the Chinese and Russian air forces exposed that the actual range of the J-16 may be significantly lower than the publicized data.
When escorting the H-6 bombers, the J-16 fighters typically turn back after reaching the Miyako Strait in Japan, allowing the H-6s to continue alone into the Pacific. On November 30th, after the J-16 fighters exited the Miyako Strait, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force captured footage of Chinese tanker aircraft refueling the J-16s. This indicates that without tanker support, the J-16 fighters might not be able to return if they fly further beyond the Miyako Strait.
The J-16 is claimed to have a maximum range of 4,000 kilometers and a combat radius of 1,850 kilometers. The distance from Shanghai to Japan’s Okinawa is approximately 822 kilometers, while the distance to Miyako Island is about 831 kilometers. This suggests that the actual range of the J-16 is far less than the advertised 4,000 kilometers, with the Miyako Strait likely representing the edge of its operational range. When the H-6 bombers returned from the Miyako Strait, two additional J-16 fighters dispatched by China could only reach the strait to provide support, further confirming that this may be close to the limit of the J-16’s range.
Furthermore, on November 29th, Chinese H-6 bombers conducted joint exercises with the Russian military, escorted by two J-16 fighters, flying from the East China Sea towards the Sea of Japan. However, upon reaching the Tsushima Strait between South Korea and Japan, the J-16 fighters turned back prematurely, allowing the H-6 bombers to continue into the Sea of Japan alone. According to flight trajectory calculations by the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the distance from Shanghai to the turnaround point near the Tsushima Strait is just over 900 kilometers. This also supports the assumption that the actual range of the J-16 is unlikely to exceed 2,000 kilometers.
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