PLAN Catapult Development Thread, News, etc.

Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
Huangdicun latest images
C_eVanEXcAAjYSr.jpg


C_eVdNuXsAAxfC9.jpg


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Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
It seems that J-15 has been launched from both catapults.

Google earth shows that the top-right photo was uploaded on October 17th, 2016. While the bottom-right was uploaded on March 19th, 2017.

We don't need satellite photos to infer that, IMO.

Considering the catapults were finished sometime last year, combined with the initial photo of a J-15 near the catapults, and the rumours of the catapult competition ongoing and later the catapult competition completing in favour of the EM catapult, it should be quite reasonable to assume that J-15 likely has been launched from both catapults, and possibly well before the satellite photos showing a J-15 near each catapult as well.


After all, we only have access to a few satellite photos that capture a single snapshot of aircraft at a certain time on a few days. What it doesn't show us is what was happening for the rest of those days, every day over the last year or so there. I bet if we had a high res geostationary satellite taking video over Huangdicun over the last year we would've had a lot more activity and launches than what the photos showed.


Also, it is important to note that if one truly wants to be pedantic, neither of the two photos from October or March actually show a J-15 being "launched" from the two catapults, only being positioned near the two catapults, but we assume that their positioning there means that subsequent to when the photo was taken they were presumably launched from the catapult they were near but which we have no photo of. From there, imo it is very logical to consider what else may have occurred at those two catapults in all the time that we have no photos of.
 
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