This surprised observers, who questioned why old J-7s - which the Taiwanese have dubbed "grandpa jets" - were flying alongside modern J-16 fighters. In 2021, China flew four J-7s in exercises near Taiwan. Other users have included Albania, Egypt, Iraq, Zimbabwe, and Iran. Pakistan became the biggest non-Chinese user and still operates 66 F-7s, according to The Military Balance. The J-7 also became prominent as the F-7 (NATO code name: "Airguard"), an export version to nations looking for a cheap, simple fighter without too many strings attached. The J-7 did receive continual updates to its airframe and avionics, with more than 2,400 models produced in 54 variants by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. Nonetheless, political pressure for China to develop its own supersonic fighter led to mass production by the 1980s - just as the third-generation MiG-21 design was being rendered obsolete by fourth-generation fighters such as the F-16 and MiG-29. It was troubled by poor reliability, and its ejection seat had severe flaws."Ī Chinese soldier guards an F-7 fighter at an air base in Tianjin in July 2002. With only one gun, its firepower was less than adequate. The early J-7 (NATO code name: "Fishcan") was a disappointment, according to Rupprecht: "It had a very limited internal fuel capacity and thus limited range. China promptly began to reverse-engineer the design, which made its first flight in 1966. In 1961, the Soviet Union agreed to supply its new MiG-21 design to China, including technical documents, raw materials, and a few airframes and engines, aviation expert Andreas Rupprecht notes in his book, "Dragon's Wings."īut as the rift between Moscow and Beijing grew, the Soviets didn't turn over everything. Interestingly, Global Times described the J-7 as "the first supersonic fighter jet developed by China that can reach Mach 2." The article neglected to mention that the J-7 is a copy of the Soviet MiG-21 (NATO codename: "Fishbed") that China partly reverse-engineered. "The retirement of the J-7s would mark the full shift to fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft for the PLAAF," Rod Lee, research director for the US Air Force's China Aerospace Studies Institute, told Insider. This would be the equivalent of the US military operating F-35 stealth fighters alongside 1960s-vintage F-4 Phantoms. US Defense Department via National Archives at College Park (Between its air force and navy, China now has the world's third-largest aviation force, according to the Pentagon.)Ī Chinese F-7 over the South China Sea in May 1993. China has been fielding advanced Chinese-designed aircraft such as the J-16 fighter and the J-20 stealth fighter, as well as newer Russian imports such as the Su-27 and Su-30.Īt the same time, China has about 350 J-7s and J-8s (a J-7 derivative) used by the Chinese air force, plus another 24 J-8s operated by the Chinese navy, according to The Military Balance 2022, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The decommissioning of the J-7, which began in 2018, also marks a transition for Chinese airpower. There are indications that China may turn J-7s into suicide drones for use in a massive attack on Taiwan. The last of the Chengdu J-7 - a Chinese copy of the 1960s-era Soviet MiG-21 - may be completely phased out of active service this year, according to the state-sponsored Chinese newspaper Global Times.īut that doesn't mean they won't fly again. Louis and flew for 90 minutes, Boeing said.The Cold War fighter that was once the mainstay of China's air force is finally being retired. The aircraft took off from Lambert International Airport in St. The Boeing fighter made its first flight on February 2 with a test pilot, Matt Giese, in the cockpit. While the F-15 is touted as an air superiority fighter, the military has regularly used this aircraft for ground-attack missions in post-9/11 conflicts. It also has an increased payload capacity, with the ability to carry up to 30,000 pounds of air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground munitions. The new F-15EX is a two-seat aircraft - though it can be flown by a single pilot - that features fly-by-wire controls, advanced avionics (including some electronic warfare upgrades), and digital cockpit displays. The Air Force is buying both platforms as replacements for older fighters. Though the Air Force prefers the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, the Pentagon determined that the fourth-generation F-15EX fighters were a much more cost-effective option for quickly modernizing the F-15 fleet to maintain capacity. The first F-15EX arrives at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida on March 11.
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