Two fighter jets attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Western Theater Command take off to the target air space in two-plane formation during a live-fire air battle training exercise on January 7, 2022, which aims to beef up the pilots' air combat capability. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Zhao Tian)

 The upgraded version of China's J-11B fighter jet, characterized by its white radar dome compared with the original version's black one, has featured in several recent official reports, with analysts saying that this could be an indication that more original J-11Bs will be upgraded to the latest variant in the near future.

A brigade affiliated with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Northern Theater Command Air Force conducted nighttime combat alert drills during the Spring Festival holidays, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday.

Identifiable in the CCTV footage, the brigade was using the upgraded version of the J-11B, eastday.com, a Shanghai-based news website, reported on Monday.

Another CCTV report on January 31, the first day of the Spring Festival holidays, showed three upgraded J-11Bs attached to the "Eagles in East Liaoning," an ace unit of the PLA Northern Theater Command Air Force, as the unit sent best Spring Festival wishes to the Chinese people.

The "Eagles in East Liaoning" unit was one of the first in the PLA to use the original J-11B fighter jet, so its switch to the upgraded J-11B could be an indication that more original J-11Bs will be upgraded to the latest variant in the near future, the eastday.com report said.

The improved J-11B variant with the white radar dome made its public debut in late 2019 when the PLA Air Force celebrated its 70th anniversary. Since then, it has made sporadic appearances in official reports, including a CCTV report in late 2020 and soon after a social media release by Shenyang Aircraft Company under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the maker of the aircraft.

None of the official reports explained the details of the differences between the upgraded variant and the original version other than the color of the radar dome, but analysts said the change of the radar dome suggests upgrades to the aircraft's radar and avionics systems.

It has been widely speculated that the improved J-11B uses advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to replace the original version's pulse-Doppler radar, eastday.com said, noting that this will allow the aircraft to detect targets at longer ranges and wider angles, enjoy better situational awareness and stronger anti-jamming capability, and become capable of launching the advanced PL-15 long-range air-to-air missile.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the Global Times that it is unknown whether the upgraded J-11B uses an AESA radar, because the aircraft still has a pitot tube on the front of its radar dome, which could lead to compatibility issues. But it is almost certain that a better radar is being used.

With the improvement, the aircraft will remain in active service with high competitiveness for a long time, analysts said.

The PLA Air Force has a large number of J-11Bs in its arsenal, and if all of them can be upgraded, it will significantly enhance the PLA Air Force's capability, Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times in a previous interview.