FANTAN Q-5 / A-5
The Q-5 [Qiang-5 Attack-5, the export version being designated A-5] is a single-seat, twin-engine supersonic fighter developed by the Nanchang Aircraft Company of China. It offers enhanced combat performance particularly at low and super-low altitude. It is the latest renovated type equipped with imported navigation and attack systems. It is used mainly to assist ground troops in attacking concentrated targets on land, key transportation points and ships near the coast. It can also intercept and fight enemy aircraft. It has two WP-6 after burning type of turbojet engines, a fuselage 15,65 meters long, a height of 4.33 meters, and a wingspan of 9,68 meters. Its maximum takeoff load is 11,300 kg.
It carries a cannon in each wing, mounted near the fuselage, and it can be loaded with air to air weapons. It can carry bombs and canisters in its hold and various kinds of bombs, rockets and spare fuel tanks in the racks under its wings.
This derivative of the J-6 fighter originated in August 1958 as a Shenyang design proposal. Responsibility was assigned to Nanchang. The prototype program was cancelled 1961, but kept alive by small team and resumed officially 1963. The first flight came on 04 June 1965, with preliminary design certificate awarded and preproduction batch authorized late 1965. Further modifications were found necessary, leading to flight test of two much modified prototypes from October 1969. Series production was approved at the end of 1969, with deliveries beginning 1970.
Development of the Q-5 attack jet suffered major obstacles. The Q-5 kinetically had major problems in quality control, as the materials utilized were inappropriate for the aircraft. As a result, much of the equipment for the Q-5 could was subpar or could not be developed. A second obstacle occurred in the early 1960s when the Chinese economy took a negative turn, delaying the Q-5's development. Thirdly, a loading mishap destroyed the test aircraft's airframe before it could be tested in 1963.
Development continued however, and on June 4, 1965 the Q-5 aircraft had its first successful test flight.
After the test, additional improvements were made regarding its hydraulic components, maneuverability, control, aircraft safety, and landing system. Additional improvements were made in its weapons, such as the addition of air-to-ground rockets. The Q-5's payload was similar to the H-5, thus making capable of fulfilling the role of a light bomber. By 1969, the Q-5 was approved by the Chinese government for full-scale production.
The development of the Q-5 took 11 years.
PLAAF equipment holdings have improved only slowly, hampered by the need for hard currency, as most Chinese equipment upgrades have required foreign assistance. The upgrade of the Q-5 aircraft centers on the addition of French inertial guidance and attack systems, including a heads-up display and laser range-finder.
As Qiang-5 has been fitted with laser-ranging sensors, its strike accuracy has been greatly improved. The ALR-1 laser-ranging sensor and the heads-up laser-ranging fire control system, which consists of the new-type heads-up display and the air data computer, both have continuous computerized point-of-impact functions. The range of the ALR-1 laser-ranging sensor is 20-10,000 meters and its range precision is 5 meters. Its overall performance is roughly equivalent to that of the British 105D and the French TMV of the 1980s.
The wings are mid-mounted, sharply swept-back, and tapered with blunt tips and wing fences. Two turbojets are located inside the body with semicircular air intakes and two exhausts. The fuselage is thick, flattened, with an upward taper to the rear section. The tail flats are high-mounted on the body, swept-back, and tapered with square tips. The sharply swept-back tail fin has a blunt tip.
Q-5 Variants
a. The Q-5A
The Q-5A is a variant of the Q-5 capable of carrying a nuclear payload. Development began in April 1970 by the Nanchang Aircraft Factory. In August 1, 1970, the Q-5A made its first test flight. Later, the Q-5A delivered a hydrogen bomb in a test flight on January 1972
Of the approximate 1,000 Q-5s produced, nearly 600 were the improved Q-5A variant. A small number, perhaps a few dozen, of the Q-5As were modified to carry nuclear weapons.
b. The Q-5B
The Q-5B was designed to improve the maritime abilities of the Chinese Navy. Beginning in 1968, development began to modify the Q-5 so that it could carry torpedoes. Modifications were made in removing the bomb bay and increasing the fuel capacity by installing a larger fuel tank. and rounding the once conical nose of the Q-5 Additionally , the wing area was increased, the cockpit raised, a new radar system installed, an autopiloting system was added, and torpedo carriages were placed underneath the wing. In September 1970, the Q-5B variant made its first flight . Three months after the flight test, the first deliveries of the Q-5B were made to the PLAN.
c. The Q-5I and Q-5IA
The Q-5I increased the range of the original Q-5, thus increasing the operational capabilities of the aircraft. A fuel tank replaced the bomb bay of the aircraft. The pylons of the aircraft were also adjusted in order to increase the payload of the Q-5 to 2 tons.The Shenyang WP6A engine was an an improved variation of the WP6 that had more thrust, thus improving the performance of the Q-5, producing an afterburning thrust of 3,750 kg. Additional changes included a new landing gear system to accommodate for the increased weight of the aircraft, repositioning of the drag chute for a shorter landing, a new rocket ejection seat, , sea survival equipment to improve the survivability of the pilot, and a 50W short wave single sideband transceiver for increased communication capabilities.
The Q-5IA had several other improvements such as a new pressure fueling system, a tail warning device and chaff dispenser, a new firing and bombing gunsight, electrical bomb release system which helped increase external storage.
d. The Q-5III
The Q-5III was the export variant of the Q-5I for sale to other countries. Modifications included the addition of carriages that could accommodate foreign missiles and bombs. The Q-5III could also utilize more than 32 types of advanced equipment, ranging from UHF transceivers to identification friend or foe (IFF) systems.
The Nanchang Aircraft Factory began trial production in April 1981 after a foreign purchase order was made. Three prototypes were produced 1982. The aircrafts first flight was made in September 1982. By December 1982, 130 flights were made and 101 flying hours had amounted . In January 1983, the Q-5III variant passed its evaluations and were made available for foreign purchase in March 1983.
e. The Q-5D
The Q-5D variant had improvements in its navigation/attack system, thus improving the combat performance of the aircraft.
The Q-5D aircraft was a cooperative result of Nanchang Aircraft Company and Italy's Aeritalia . The navigation/attack system was composed of 17 electronic systems from Italy, which complemented 8 preexisting systems. Such systems included inertial navigation aids, a heads-up display, and a range-measurement radar and host computer. The two companies signed an agreement in July 1986. Modifications of the aircraft began in August later the same year in August.
In the first phase of development, the technical design and coordination were created, ground tests were concocted, and the production of 2 prototypes their tests were made. In the second phase, the production of the aircraft began in conjunction with its marketing, production, sales and logistical support.
Design of the Q-5D was complete in June 1987 an its assembly was finished in August 1988.
