JH-7 [Jianhong Fighter-Bomber] - Evaluation
A series of fatal flaws directly led to many serious crashes. Although the design was powerful and reliable, the flying defects are also obvious.
The most deadly flaw is the ejection seat of the Flying Leopard fighter. It is blunt to say that the Flying Leopard's ejection escape system is the worst of all Chinese Navy and Air Force fighters, even the oldest MiG-21 fighter of the Indian Air Force. It is better than that, of course, this is also a long time away from the design of the FH-7, and the improved JH-7A is mainly concentrated in avionics, and has not greatly improved the ejection system.
Another flaw that cannot be ignored is the stability of low-altitude flight. Due to the lack of design experience and the shortage of research and development funds, the research and development of the company was in a state of no further effort, in order to maintain this Group. At that time, the life of the wings, simplifying the complex aerodynamic design, and accelerating the commissioning process became the focus of the department responsible for R&D and production at that time.
The aerodynamic layout design of the Flying Leopard is actually very simple. In fact, the Xifei Group is not unaware of the problems of the JH7. While it was widely reported that the aircraft would have upgraded Russian AL-31SM turbofan engines, the JH-7 that was shown at the 1998 Zhuhai Aerospace Show had two British Spey MK-202 turbofan engines. Turbofan engines are a bottleneck technology for the Chinese aircraft industry which, from the 1960s to the present has always used less efficient turbojet engines.
The plane was inspired by the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, a large but fast multipurpose plane used by the US Navy and Air Force in a variety of strike roles, from anti-ship attacks to “wild weasel” air defense suppression and conventional ground strikes. The naval warfare versions are perhaps the most potent. While, at 73 feet long, the plane is too large to land on an aircraft carrier (although that option was almost available to the F-111), the danger it poses to enemy naval forces is not to be underestimated.
The JH-7 self-defense ability is weak. Compared with similar foreign fighter jet bombers, the JH-7A has a range, a bomb load and a combat radius that are close to the latter, but the technical level of the turbo--9 engine of the JH-7A is better than that of the RB199-34R. The level of the engine is low, and the technical maturity of the avionics system and related pods may be inferior to the latter, and the JB-7A does not have a stealth defense attack system like the storm shadow of the squadron fighter bomber. Therefore, these are the future directions of the JH-7A.
The first two batches of JH-7s equipped by the naval aviation force found some problems in use, including existing technical aspects (such as the radar still has clutter interference, high failure rate, insufficient reliability, etc.). Aspects (such as engine maintenance issues, radar, avionics, and airborne weapons support issues, etc.), all of which have affected the performance and attendance of fighter combat capabilities to a certain extent. In other words, the technical status of the JH-7 may not have any major problems until the mid-1980s, but in the face of the sea and air battlefield environment of the 21st century, the JH-7 still has not stepped out of China’s aviation weapons. The strange circle of "equipment is behind" appeared. In addition, JH-7 also faced some new problems in the new era. After entering the 21st century, according to the military threats it faces and the changes in the battlefield environment, the Chinese Navy has begun to adjust the "offshore defense" strategy that it has been pursuing for decades, and shift to the direction of "offshore defense and far sea escort", which indicates the Chinese Navy. The combat range of the aviation force will be larger, the strike area will be wider, and the combat missions undertaken will also be more. The strike range of the new ship-based air defense system of potential opponents has increased from more than 40 kilometers to more than 120 dry meters. The technical and tactical performance of the JH-7 is obviously not enough. Although the JH-7 has improved the tactical attack capability of the Chinese Navy and Air Force, it was too late. In 1998, it was officially designed and finalized. China has introduced the Su-27 production line and achieved localization. The new generation of J-10 also completed its first flight. In 1996, the United States launched the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project. The various services jointly developed a universal multi-role fighter that could replace the existing tactical aircraft. In the same year, the F-111 sniper bomber was retired. The JH-7 is outdated in design concept and technology, and it is difficult to replicate the brilliance of F-111 and Su-24.
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