U.A.E. Buys 15 Chinese L-15 Combat Trainer Aircraft

The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) has bought L-15 advanced combat trainer aircraft produced in China.

A contract was signed on Feb. 21 at the ongoing IDEX 2023 exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where China put the latest, aerial refueling-capable variant of the aircraft on display.

This done deal will reportedly cover delivery of 12 L-15s with the option for 36 additional aircraft of the same type in the future.

The L-15 on display at IDEX 23 is painted in the colors of the U.A.E. Air Force, and it has been equipped with the additional capability for aerial refueling, state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) said in a news release Tuesday.

The L-15 new-generation, light combat/training plane that can be used in air and ground attacks and can help train aviators to fly fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets.

"If a fourth-generation fighter jet engages an L15 in a dogfight, the trainer might end up winning," Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert told the Global Times, a daily tabloid newspaper owned by Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper.

In February 2022, the U.A.E.'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 to buy another 36 in the future.

Developed by AVIC's Hongdu Aviation Industry Group in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, the L-15 has two engines, a streamlined aerodynamic design and integrated avionics. It can be equipped with an advanced fire-control radar and multiple types of munitions such as midrange air-to-air missiles, precision strike bombs and anti-ship cruise missiles.