JH-7 [Jianhong Fighter-Bomber] - Development
At the beginning of 1973, the Aviation Research Institute of China National Defense Science and Technology Commission (Sixth Institute) instructed Xi'an Aircraft. The Design Institute (ie 603) conducted pre-research on supersonic tactical bombers . The preparatory meeting for aviation development planning held in Beijing in April 1973 pointed out: According to the situation at that time in China, it was decided to build a successor of the H-5, H-5 and K-5 to strengthen the air attack force. At the end of 1973, the Ministry of Three Machines issued a document requesting 603 further bombing-5 successor program preparation work. In 1974, 603 established the H-7 system demonstration team, and went to the air and naval forces to conduct investigations and studies. In 1975, Xi'an Aero Engine Factory signed a contract with Rolls-Royce of the United Kingdom to fully introduce its Spey MK202 afterburning turbofan engine. Motivation effectively avoided the risk of power system in the development of new machines.
In November 1975 and March 1976, the air and navy respectively reported the tactical technical requirements for the H-5 successor. The technical performance of the aircraft was basically the same except for the weapons used in combat and their equipment. In June 1976, all units under the Ministry of Three Machines gathered in Beijing. Shenyang Aircraft Manufacturing Plant (Shenfei) and Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Plant (Nanfei) took the lead in proposing their own plans. Shen Fei’s JH -8 program is a light sniper bomber that plans to develop a ground attack capability based on the JH-8 . Based on the MiG-23MC, Shen Fei changed the air intake of the JH-8 head to the air intake configuration on both sides, using a new type of large thrust engine.
Motivation, under the premise of sacrificing ceiling and speed, increase the bomb load (from 2200 kg to 4500 kg), and the aircraft's range is also increased to more than 3,000 km. Nanfei has proposed a modified swept-wing fighter plan with a code-named strong-6. The Strong-6 uses an improved avionics system and intends to use some of the components of the MiG-23BN as a reference, including laser target indicators, tail warning radars, radio altimeters and radio gyro disks, as well as terrain Matching and tracking systems as well as modern flat panel displays. In November 1976, the National Defense Industry Office convened the Air Force, the Navy, the Three Machines Department, and the Sixth Hospital in Beijing to listen to and take 603 arguments and program reports on the tactical technical requirements of the H-7 aircraft, and clearly pointed out that one machine was adopted. Equipment adjustment, while meeting the requirements of air and navy.
On February 6, 1977, the State Council and the Central Military Commission's Standing Equipment Development Leading Group issued the instructions of "Consent to Develop the Successor to the Next Five Machines" in the Standing Order (1977) No. 10, stating that the H-7 is a sniper bomber, not only has to have The ability to use bombs and missiles to attack sea or ground targets, as well as certain self-defense and air combat capabilities, can undertake the deep attack missions of the battle. It is mainly used to assault deep targets of enemy battles (transport hubs, frontier important seas, air bases, beachhead positions, force assembly points, etc.) and surface ships above the enemy. The aircraft can take off from the second-line base and have good low-altitude performance and combat capability at night.
Its main performance is required: when the auxiliary fuel tank is mounted, the transition range is more than 2,800 kilometers, and the combat radius is more than 800 kilometers. Half oil inside the machine, with 3 tons of low-resistance bombs or missiles, the maximum M number is 0.9 at low altitude (500 meters). When there is no external attack weapon at high altitude, the maximum use number is 1.5, and the maximum sea surface speed is 1200 km / h; the maximum take-off weight should be able to use the secondary airport, the use of afterburning is allowed when the overload is taken; the normal load is at least 3 tons, and the overload is at least 5 tons.
On October 10, 1977, the Ministry of Three Machines officially named H-7, code H-7, with the (77) three counts of No. 1008, “Reply on the name and code of the aircraft for the follow-up machine.”
In November 1977, Xi'an 603 proposed the preliminary design of the third program H-7 (H-7): a sniper bomber with front-line supersonic low-altitude penetration capability, which determined the traditional design and flight control technology. The combination of the road, trying to make the design to a more advanced level.
In view of comparison, the H-7 is simpler in structure, more compact in aerodynamic design, larger in bomb load and longer in combat radius [13] ; the H-7 program was finally selected, project code "70 Project"]. According to the instructions of the Ministry of Machinery, 603 is the chief designer unit responsible for aircraft design work, Xi'an aircraft manufacturer (172 factory) is in charge of the trial production. The engine is responsible for the Xi'an engine factory (430 factory). The other finished products and materials are responsible for the fixed-point units. The flight test work is jointly organized by 630 (test flight research institute) and 172 factory.
In August 1980, the General Staff and the National Defense Office approved the design principle of “one machine, two types” and “strings first” in the text of (1980) Office No. 397. The Air Force type ceased development after the demonstration, the Navy The model was officially started as a key project in 1979. The wood prototype passed the review in July 1979. Since then, in order to better highlight the low-altitude maneuverability, the original scheme has been partially adjusted. At the same time, the development of the H-7 system has been carried out. Entered the stage of comprehensive proofing design.
From 1980 to 1981, due to the adjustment of the national economy, the development cost of the new aircraft was reduced, and the development progress of the H-7 was slowed down. On March 15, 1982, the National Defense Office of the National Defense Office Chen Yijian, the general manager of Qiong-7, reported to the commander of the navy, Liu Huaqing, the "Description of Aircraft Development" to the relevant leaders of the Central Committee, and it is recommended to speed up the development of the H-7 to meet the urgent needs of the military.
In April 1982, with the approval of leading comrades such as Deng Xiaoping and Zhao Ziyang, the H-7 aircraft was listed as a key project of conventional weapons and equipment, and comprehensive research and development work was resumed.
Entering the reform and opening up of China in the 1980s, the industry is waiting to be promoted. Army building has also had to make way for economic construction. A number of new equipment development plans were forced to terminate, including the most important equipment development projects such as J-13 and J-6. In the same period, the JH-7 also fell into a situation where funding was reduced and progress was slowed down. In the Battle of Inama Island in 1982, the Argentine Super Flag attack aircraft launched the AM39 "Flying Fish" missile to destroy the Royal Navy. destroyer Sheffield, which left a deep impression on the Chinese military. After the Falklands War, the Chinese Navy began to explore the joint combat mode of bombers, surface ships and submarines. So in November 1982, JH-7, The JH-8 all-weather plan was launched again.
By the beginning of 1983, 603 had completed the structure, strength and systematic principle experiments of the JH-7, and at the same time transferred to the comprehensive detailed design stage. At the same time, the pre-research work of the new generation of "Eagle Strike-8" (YJ8) air-to-ship missiles, which is compatible with the JH-7, has also officially begun. In May of the same year, the state allocated a special fund to update the manufacturing equipment of 603 to ensure the normal development of the aircraft. In the absence of the original standard for reference, the slogan of the standard design “not falling behind in 20 years” was proposed, and the main person in charge was Chen Yijian.
In 1985, the JH-7 project was underway and resumed in 1986. In 1987, a total of six prototypes were trial-produced, one of which was used for static testing. The first prototype of the JH-7 was delivered in August 1988. It successfully made its first flight on December 14, 1988 [2] and the first supersonic flight on November 17, 1989. JH-7 co-production.
Five test prototypes were built. Among them, No. 082 crashed in 1994 and No. 085 crashed on August 12, 1996. The first mass production was delivered in 1994 and was equipped with the 16th Division of the 6th Division of the Naval Air Force. A batch of 20 JH-7s were pre-produced and delivered to the Chinese Navy. The first of these aircraft were shipped in 1994, each with five weapons hanging points. Subsequently, the first batch of 35 mass-produced JH-7 was produced, which was equipped to the 16th Regiment of the 6th Division of the East China Sea Fleet (Shanghai).
In 1998, the JH-7 aircraft was designed and finalized. China has produced a total of 250 examples of the JH-7. The development of the JH-7 "Flying Leopard" lasted 18 years and cost a total of 1 billion yuan.
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