Chinese Aircraft - JH-7 Fighter-Bomber [B-7] (2024)

Built by Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation, the fourth generation JH-7 “Flying Leopard” was first introduced in 1988 but didn’t enter service until 2004 as the improved JH-7A. In 2003, after considerable work, aircraft of this type, known as Block 2, were adopted by the Air Force. A later modification machine JH-7A, able to use precision-guided weapons, entered the parade of the PLA Air Force in 2004. Combat capabilities Jian-hong 7A corresponds approximately Panavia Tornado. It is believed that Chien-Hung-7 can not be on an equal footing to resist modern fighters. They are involved in almost all "Peace Mission" exercises of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

To bolster strike capabilities, China developed an improved version of the FB-7. The twin-engine FB-7 is an all-weather, supersonic, medium-range fighter-bomber with an anti-ship mission. Improvements to the FB-7 would include a better radar, night attack avionics, and weapons. Over the next 20 years, production efforts for the air forces are expected to focus on an indigenous 4th generation-type aircraft, the improved FB-7 fighter-bomber, and possible upgrades to the Su-27/Su-30.

The JH-7 has provided the Chinese Navy with improved attack capabilities. However, the WS9 turbofan did not have enough thrust (with boosted thrust at 9,305 kg per engine), the maximum bomb-carrying capacity of this large fighter with a maximum takeoff weight of 27 metric tons is only five metric tons, far less than that of foreign aircraft in the same weight class.

The XAIC plan was to use Russian-made engines and advanced composite materials to improve the JH-7 and equip it with terrain-tracking radar and electronic countermeasures equipment. This improved JH-7A would have more reliable AL-31F engine as well as a domestic radar with a detection range of 100 km and the ability to simultaneously track 14 targets and attack 4 to 6. This improved JH-7A is a candidate to replace the outmoded B5 and A5 attack planes. However, the J-10 fighter-bomber has a maximum bomb-carrying capacity of design at 6.8 metric tons, and the Su-27 also has a bomb-carrying capacity of nearly 6.5 metric tons.

In June 2009 it was reported that China had decided to revive production of the JH-7 strike aircraft at aircraft maker, Xian Aircraft Co., Xian, Shaanxi, China. The People's Liberation Army's Naval Air Force could produce an additional 50 to 70 aircraft, and the PLA Air Force may purchase some 100 planes. Some of the planes to be built would be the improved JH-7A variant. British and French engine manufacturers were said to be vying with each other to provide China with engine technology to support production of an additional 170 upgraded JH-7s.

When first introduced in the mid-1990s, the JH-7 met with limited success due to the usual difficulties in manufacturing the the WS9 turbofan powerplant. The WS9 is a version of the Rolls Royce Spey Mk202 that the company built under licence. An article in Defence News quoted industrial and government sources as saying that China was planning additional production of the JH-7, with discussions ongoing on with Rolls Royce plc, London, and France’s Snecma, to build engines for the attack aircraft. The European Union arms embargo covers only weaponry and complete weapons systems, and not engines.

With an 800-mile unaided combat range or up to 1,100 miles on external fuel tanks, the JH-7A can strike far out to sea: one flying from Hainan could reach across the South China Sea, and a jet flying east from Xiamen could get halfway to Guam. It has a top speed on full afterburner of Mach 1.75. The JH-7A is equipped with some of the PLA’s best long-range anti-ship projectiles, carrying up to four KD-88 or YJ-83 missiles, which themselves have a range over 100 miles and active homing during their terminal phase. In addition, the jet’s JL-10A Condor pulse-doppler radar helps it to fly low and accurately over land or sea, meaning its ability to approach and attack naval fleets makes it a real danger.

Plus, the PLA likes the KG600 jamming pods on JH-7As, which suppress its firing range somewhat but also make it impossible for enemy ships or aircraft to discern what’s coming their way. Another common method of attack is to combine the jamming pods with LD-10 and YJ-91 anti-radiation missiles, which home in on active radars up to 60 miles away. An enemy radar cranking up the power to try and peer through the jamming pod’s noise could accidentally make itself an excellent target for a hungry JH-7A pilot.

The PLAAF and PLAN had between 215 and 240 JH-7As in service as of 2019.