Xian JH-7 Fighter Bomber

The Xian JH-7, 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.

A new fighter bomber

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.

Key positions were filled as follows:

• General designer: Chen Yijian
• General engineer: Liu liangZhi
• Test flight program manager: Wang Ang, deputy minister of the Chinese Aeronautical Ministry
• Deputy test flight program manager: Ma Chenglin , deputy director of the Military Aircraft Directorate of the Chinese Aeronautical Ministry
• Chief test pilot: Huang Bingxin , commander of the PLAAF Flight Test Regiment and China Flight Test Establishment (CFTE) vice president
• Chief of ground operations during test flights: Peng Diyu , deputy commander of the PLAAF Flight Test Regiment
• Chief backseat test pilot: Xing Yancai , CFTE chief navigator

JH-7

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.

JH-7A

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 and Wu Jieqin 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. In PLANAF, this allowed four YJ-82 anti-ship missiles to be carried, compared to the two on the JH-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.

General characteristics

• Crew: 2: pilot, weapons operator
• Payload: 9,000 kg (19,842 lb) of weapons
• Length: 22.32 m (73 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 12.8 m (41 ft 7 in)
• Height: 6.22 m (20 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: m² (ft²)
• Empty weight: 14,500 kg (31,900 lb)
• Loaded weight: kg (lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 28,475 kg (62,720 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Xian WS9 (a license-built Spey Mk202) afterburning turbofans
  • Dry thrust: 54.29 kN (12,250 lbf) each
  • Thrust with afterburner: 91.26 kN (20,515 lbf) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 1.75 (1,808 km/h, 1,122 mph)
• Combat radius: 1,759 km (890 nm, 1,093 mi)
• Ferry range: 3,700 km (1,970 nm, 2,299 mi)
• Service ceiling: 16,000 m (51,180 ft)
• Wing loading: kg/m² (lb/ft²)

Armament

• Guns: 1× 23mm twin-barrel GSh-23L autocannon, 300 rounds
• Hardpoints: 9 in total (6× under-wing, 2× wing-tip, 1× under-fuselage) with a capacity of 9,000 kg (20,000 lb) external fuel and ordnance
• Rockets: 57mm/90mm unguided rocket pods
• Missiles:
  
  • Air-to-air missiles:
    • PL-5
    • PL-8
    • PL-9
  • Anti-ship missiles:
    • Yingji-8K
    • Yingji-82K
    • Kongdi-88
  • Anti-radiation missiles:
    • Yingji-91
• Bombs:
  
  • Unguided bombs
  • Laser-guided bombs

Avionics
JL-10A radar