China announced Sunday that it had landed a fighter jet on the deck of an aircraft carrier for the first time , but it may be years before the ship is fully operational . China 's `` first generation multi-purpose carrier-borne fighter jet , '' known as the J-15 , successfully completed its first landing on the Liaoning , an aircraft carrier China built using an abandoned Soviet hull , according to China 's official news agency Xinhua . The J-15 's capabilities are comparable to the Russian Su-33 jet and the U.S. F-18 , Xinhua reported . The Chinese-designed jet can `` carry multi-type anti-ship , air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles , as well as precision-guided bombs , the report said . The U.S. military , in its latest annual assessment of China 's military capability , predicted `` it will still take several additional years for China to achieve a minimal level of combat capability for its aircraft carriers . '' The Liaoning will be able to carry 30 J-15 fighter planes and will have a crew of 2,000 , according to a People 's Daily Online report published when it completed its first sea trials in August 2011 . China bought the shell of the carrier , then called the Varyag , from Ukraine in 1998 . Its construction was begun under the Soviet military before the breakup of the Soviet Union . The Pentagon report said another carrier , one made from components made in China , may already be under construction and ready to sail in 2015 . `` China likely will build multiple aircraft carriers and associated support ships over the next decade , '' the U.S. assessment said . The United States , Britain and Japan launched the first aircraft carriers nearly a century ago . The U.S. Navy , with 11 , is the only fleet that currently operates more than one .
China 's J-15 jet completed its first landing on the aircraft carrier Liaoning , The U.S. Navy says . The Liaoning is built in the shell of an abandoned Soviet carrier . The China aircraft carrier will be able to carry 30 J-15 fighter planes , Soviet media reports . The China predicts it will be years before China 's carrier has a minimal level of combat capability .