| Xian JH-7 FBC-1 Flying Leopard |
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|---|---|
| Xian JH-7A of the PLANAF seen at a civilian airport | |
| Role | Fighter-bomber |
| Manufacturer | Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation |
| First flight | 14 December 1988 |
| Introduction | 1992 |
| Status | Operational |
| Primary users | People's Liberation Army Navy People's Liberation Army Air Force |
| Number built | 114 (As of February 2011[update])[1] |
The Xian JH-7 (Jianjiji Hongzhaji - fighter-bomber); NATO reporting name Flounder[2]), also known as the FBC-1 (Fighter/Bomber China-1) Flying Leopard, is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber in service with the People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF), and the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The main contractors are Xian Aircraft Industry Corporation (XAC) and the 603rd Aircraft Design Institute (later named the First Aircraft Institute of AVIC-1.)
The first JH-7s were delivered to the PLANAF in the mid-1990s for evaluation, with the improved JH-7A entering service in 2004.[3]
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In the early 1970s, the PLAAF required a new fighter-bomber to replace the Harbin H-5 and Nanchang Q-5. A request was duly submitted to the Ministry of Aviation Industry (later renamed to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China), which organized a domestic development program when efforts to secure a joint venture with foreign partners failed. The program was authorized on April 19, 1983 by then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. The program was also aiming for make use of newly imported British Spey turbofan engines at the time.[4]
Key positions were filled as follows:
The PLANAF required a similar aircraft and the program set out to develop a variant for each set of requirements. The PLAAF variant would be a two-man all-weather deep strike bomber, with side-by-side cockpit seating, electronic countermeasures (ECM), and terrain following capabilities similar to the General Dynamics F-111. The PLANAF would receive a two-man all-weather, tandem cockpit, strike and reconnaissance aircraft. The PLAAF variant was dropped in the early 1980s, with the PLANAF variant becoming the JH-7.
Six prototypes were built by December 1988, and the PLANAF received 12 to 18 aircraft in the early 1990s for evaluation. The first aircraft used imported Rolls-Royce Spey Mk.202 engines, later replaced by a license-built copy, the WS-9. They were equipped with the Type 243H multifunction radar, which could detect ships at a maximum of 175 kilometres (109 mi), and MiG-21-sized aerial targets at 75 kilometres (47 mi).
The JH-7 was designed as an anti-shipping fighter-bomber. As with the later JH-7A, its aerial combat capability was insignificant given the large number of specialist aircraft for that role.
When the PLA examined the future role of air forces, it identified a need for precision air-to-surface capability. An improved JH-7, the JH-7A, was designed to meet this requirement. The JH-7A's general and deputy general designers were Tang Changhong (唐长红) and Wu Jieqin (吴介琴) respectively.
The JH-7A had a lighter and stronger airframe than the JH-7, allowing the newer aircraft to carry a maximum ordnance load of 9000 kg.[5][6] In PLANAF, this allowed four YJ-82 anti-ship missiles to be carried, compared to the two on the JH-7.[7] In addition, it had JL-10A pulse doppler radar, fly-by-wire flight control system, one-piece windscreen, additional hardpoints, and could fire laser-guided bombs and Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles. The existing JH-7s were upgraded with JH-7A electronics.
The JH-7A was the first Chinese aircraft to use paperless design, and was the first aircraft in the world to be designed using CAD/CAM CATIA V.5 software.
The JH-7A entered service with the PLANAF in early 2004, and with the PLAAF by the end of the year.[8]
On 19 July 2009, a JH-7A crashed during the Sino-Russia military exercise "Peace Mission 2009". Both pilots failed to eject and were killed.[9]
On 14 October 2011, a JH-7A crashed during an exhibition at an air show in central China, outside the city of Xi'an. One pilot was killed and one injured in this accident.[10]
Data from AVIC I, SinoDefence.com
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Avionics
JL-10A radar
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