UAE Air Force flies its first Chinese-made Hongdu L-15 jets at Dubai Airshow 2025
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
The UAE Air Force’s Al Fursan team conducted the first public flight of its Chinese-made Hongdu L-15 jets during the Dubai Airshow 2025, completing its transition from the Italian Aermacchi MB-339.
At Dubai Airshow 2025, the UAE Air Force’s Al Fursan aerobatic team conducted the first public flight of its new Chinese Hongdu L-15 jet trainers, by performing a full seven-aircraft aerobatic display. The flight signals a complete transition away from the Italian Aermacchi MB-339 after roughly 15 years of service, as part of a deeper UAE-China defense cooperation. The seven aircraft form part of a 12-unit order announced in 2022 and finalized during IDEX 2023, which also includes options for 36 more L-15s.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Created in the early 2000s, the Hongdu L-15, known in Chinese military service as the JL-10, is a twin-engine advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Hongdu Aviation Industry Group with design input from Russia’s Yakovlev bureau. (Picture source: Al Fursan)
Al Fursan’s newly delivered L-15s conducted multiple rehearsals and scheduled displays over Dubai World Central, using a ventral tank feeding the smoke system, which differs from the MB-339’s wingtip-based approach and allows the L-15 to produce denser, more uniform smoke trails compatible with the team’s aerobatic figures, such as large-scale heart shapes. The seven aircraft, symbolising each of the Emirates, performed a 29-minute show that included close formation maneuvers designed to demonstrate stability and handling at low altitude. The L-15s produced a recognizable howl from the AI-222 series engines, while their presence was also captured in satellite imagery released by BlackSky on November 19, 2025, illustrating how high-profile military activity now appears in near real time from both ground level and orbital observation.
The transition to the L-15 ends a 15-year period during which Al Fursan operated the Italian Aermacchi MB-339, introduced to the UAE at the end of the 2000s with direct support from the Frecce Tricolori. The MB-339 was selected for its straightforward handling, simple maintenance, and proven aerobatic record, and the UAE adopted the black and gold livery that later became characteristic of the team. The transition began on February 23, 2022, when the UAE formally announced its intention to purchase 12 L-15 aircraft with options for 36 additional units, framing the decision as part of a diversification effort to avoid reliance on a single supplier. During IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi, the order was confirmed, and an L-15A in UAE markings appeared with an in-flight refueling probe. On October 6, 2023, aircraft 64 and 65 were photographed in China before delivery and later tracked on their ferry flight through Pakistan. Estimates placed the total value for the 12 aircraft at about $440 million.
The Hongdu L-15 Falcon, designated JL-10 in Chinese service, is a twin-engine advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Hongdu Aviation Industry Group with design input from the Yakovlev bureau, which also worked on the Yak-130. Development began in the early 2000s, with the first flight on March 13, 2006, and small batch production by 2009. The airframe includes roughly 25 percent composite materials and a design service life of 10,000 hours. A digital cockpit with multifunction displays, HOTAS controls, and a three-axis, four-channel fly-by-wire system provides training characteristics aligned with modern fighters. The L-15A uses two AI-222-25 turbofans, while the fighter trainer and light attack variants use afterburning AI-222K-25F engines for speeds around 1,200 km/h and supersonic performance near Mach 1.4. An operational range of about 2,600 km allows for extended training and patrol missions.
The L-15B variant, shown publicly around the Zhuhai Airshow 2016, expands the aircraft’s combat capability with nine hardpoints instead of seven and supports a payload of about 3,500 kg. The aircraft can carry short and medium-range air-to-air missiles, precision-guided bombs, conventional ordnance, and a ventral gun pod while employing a passive electronically scanned array radar. The AI 222 25F afterburning engines, originally produced at Motor Sich in Zaporozhye, provide around 4,200 kg thrust in afterburner. Additional avionics include the HB6096 SZ 01 data link compatible with ARINC429. Variants include the L-15AW basic trainer, the supersonic advanced fighter trainer, the L-15Z exported to Zambia under a six-unit order valued at around $100 million, and a naval carrier-compatible version used by the PLAN Air Force. An experimental twin-tail derivative has also appeared in testing, suggesting a new refinement.
In China, the L-15’s adoption by the air force academies was included in a series of reforms aimed at reducing pilot training timelines and shifting supersonic training earlier in the curriculum. Before these reforms, cadets typically relied on operational units for supersonic conversion training after academy graduation. With the introduction of the L-15 in 2015, cadets in at least one academy began supersonic training during their academic course, freeing operational units to focus on combat readiness. A simulator and integrated training system was also created under the direction of engineer Li Wei was developed to match the aircraft’s avionics and provide low-cost tactical training. Li Wei noted that the system required years of development and verification, but was considered essential to ensure training independence for a domestically built aircraft and to prevent technical challenges from slowing the wider training reform.
The UAE’s decision to operate the L-15 is also part of broader military and industrial ties with China. The UAE operates Wing Loong II drones from locations such as Qusahwirah and hosts Chinese companies, including CATIC and NORINCO, at major defense exhibitions. Joint Falcon Shield exercises in 2023 and 2024 saw UAE Mirage 2000-9 aircraft deploy to Hotan in Xinjiang, creating training exposure between Emirati assets and Chinese forces. At Dubai Airshow 2025, Chinese displays included the J-10CE, the J-35A, the Y-20 transport, multiple Wing Loong and AR drones, and a full-scale Wing Loong X, while Aero Engine Corporation of China exhibited engines including the Taihang turbofan and compact turbojets such as the KP16-3D for unmanned applications, alongside the UAE’s adoption of Huawei 5G infrastructure.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
The UAE Air Force’s Al Fursan team conducted the first public flight of its Chinese-made Hongdu L-15 jets during the Dubai Airshow 2025, completing its transition from the Italian Aermacchi MB-339.
At Dubai Airshow 2025, the UAE Air Force’s Al Fursan aerobatic team conducted the first public flight of its new Chinese Hongdu L-15 jet trainers, by performing a full seven-aircraft aerobatic display. The flight signals a complete transition away from the Italian Aermacchi MB-339 after roughly 15 years of service, as part of a deeper UAE-China defense cooperation. The seven aircraft form part of a 12-unit order announced in 2022 and finalized during IDEX 2023, which also includes options for 36 more L-15s.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Created in the early 2000s, the Hongdu L-15, known in Chinese military service as the JL-10, is a twin-engine advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Hongdu Aviation Industry Group with design input from Russia’s Yakovlev bureau. (Picture source: Al Fursan)
Al Fursan’s newly delivered L-15s conducted multiple rehearsals and scheduled displays over Dubai World Central, using a ventral tank feeding the smoke system, which differs from the MB-339’s wingtip-based approach and allows the L-15 to produce denser, more uniform smoke trails compatible with the team’s aerobatic figures, such as large-scale heart shapes. The seven aircraft, symbolising each of the Emirates, performed a 29-minute show that included close formation maneuvers designed to demonstrate stability and handling at low altitude. The L-15s produced a recognizable howl from the AI-222 series engines, while their presence was also captured in satellite imagery released by BlackSky on November 19, 2025, illustrating how high-profile military activity now appears in near real time from both ground level and orbital observation.
The transition to the L-15 ends a 15-year period during which Al Fursan operated the Italian Aermacchi MB-339, introduced to the UAE at the end of the 2000s with direct support from the Frecce Tricolori. The MB-339 was selected for its straightforward handling, simple maintenance, and proven aerobatic record, and the UAE adopted the black and gold livery that later became characteristic of the team. The transition began on February 23, 2022, when the UAE formally announced its intention to purchase 12 L-15 aircraft with options for 36 additional units, framing the decision as part of a diversification effort to avoid reliance on a single supplier. During IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi, the order was confirmed, and an L-15A in UAE markings appeared with an in-flight refueling probe. On October 6, 2023, aircraft 64 and 65 were photographed in China before delivery and later tracked on their ferry flight through Pakistan. Estimates placed the total value for the 12 aircraft at about $440 million.
The Hongdu L-15 Falcon, designated JL-10 in Chinese service, is a twin-engine advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft developed by Hongdu Aviation Industry Group with design input from the Yakovlev bureau, which also worked on the Yak-130. Development began in the early 2000s, with the first flight on March 13, 2006, and small batch production by 2009. The airframe includes roughly 25 percent composite materials and a design service life of 10,000 hours. A digital cockpit with multifunction displays, HOTAS controls, and a three-axis, four-channel fly-by-wire system provides training characteristics aligned with modern fighters. The L-15A uses two AI-222-25 turbofans, while the fighter trainer and light attack variants use afterburning AI-222K-25F engines for speeds around 1,200 km/h and supersonic performance near Mach 1.4. An operational range of about 2,600 km allows for extended training and patrol missions.
The L-15B variant, shown publicly around the Zhuhai Airshow 2016, expands the aircraft’s combat capability with nine hardpoints instead of seven and supports a payload of about 3,500 kg. The aircraft can carry short and medium-range air-to-air missiles, precision-guided bombs, conventional ordnance, and a ventral gun pod while employing a passive electronically scanned array radar. The AI 222 25F afterburning engines, originally produced at Motor Sich in Zaporozhye, provide around 4,200 kg thrust in afterburner. Additional avionics include the HB6096 SZ 01 data link compatible with ARINC429. Variants include the L-15AW basic trainer, the supersonic advanced fighter trainer, the L-15Z exported to Zambia under a six-unit order valued at around $100 million, and a naval carrier-compatible version used by the PLAN Air Force. An experimental twin-tail derivative has also appeared in testing, suggesting a new refinement.
In China, the L-15’s adoption by the air force academies was included in a series of reforms aimed at reducing pilot training timelines and shifting supersonic training earlier in the curriculum. Before these reforms, cadets typically relied on operational units for supersonic conversion training after academy graduation. With the introduction of the L-15 in 2015, cadets in at least one academy began supersonic training during their academic course, freeing operational units to focus on combat readiness. A simulator and integrated training system was also created under the direction of engineer Li Wei was developed to match the aircraft’s avionics and provide low-cost tactical training. Li Wei noted that the system required years of development and verification, but was considered essential to ensure training independence for a domestically built aircraft and to prevent technical challenges from slowing the wider training reform.
The UAE’s decision to operate the L-15 is also part of broader military and industrial ties with China. The UAE operates Wing Loong II drones from locations such as Qusahwirah and hosts Chinese companies, including CATIC and NORINCO, at major defense exhibitions. Joint Falcon Shield exercises in 2023 and 2024 saw UAE Mirage 2000-9 aircraft deploy to Hotan in Xinjiang, creating training exposure between Emirati assets and Chinese forces. At Dubai Airshow 2025, Chinese displays included the J-10CE, the J-35A, the Y-20 transport, multiple Wing Loong and AR drones, and a full-scale Wing Loong X, while Aero Engine Corporation of China exhibited engines including the Taihang turbofan and compact turbojets such as the KP16-3D for unmanned applications, alongside the UAE’s adoption of Huawei 5G infrastructure.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
