The Liaoning carrier battle group has been busy over the past month, traveling from its home port of Qingdao, Shandong province, to the South China Sea, where it took part in the Navy's largest-ever parade. After that, the Navy said, it conducted a series of combat training operations in the South China Sea, practicing air defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine tactics and strikes against land targets.

Sources close to the Navy said the recent drills show that the battle group is rapidly gaining full operational capability but added that pilots still need time to improve their skills, especially their ability to fly at night.