The JH-7 (Jianji Hongzha-7 or JianHong-7, also known as FBC-1 'Flying Leopard' in its export name) is a two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather fighter-bomber developed by the 603 Aircraft Design Institute in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province. The production of the aircraft has been carried out by the Xi’an Aircraft Corporation (XAC). The aircraft was first flown in December 1988, and entered limited service with the PLA Navy in 1992. An improved variant designated JH-7A was developed in the late 1990s and has been operational with both the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) and PLA Navy since 2004. Approximately 80 examples in both JH-7 and JH-7A variants are currently in service.
The JH-7 was developed from the H-7 (Hong-7) tactical bomber programme initiated in the late 1970s to replace the ageing H-5 (IL-28 Beagle) bombers and Q-5 attackers in service with the PLAAF and PLA Navy. It features a number of new technologies which were first seen on Chinese-developed combat aircraft, including the turbofan jet engine, fly-by-wire (FBW) control, multi-functional pulse-Doppler radar, integrated INS/GPS/Doppler navigation system, and sophisticated self-defence electronic countermeasures (ECM) suite.
The JH-7 is in the same class as the European Tornado IDS and Russian Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer. The basic variant JH-7 is a naval bomber primarily for anti-ship missile strike role, while the improved JH-7A is a multirole interdiction and attack aircraft capable of delivering a full range of precision guided and stand-off weapons.
JH-7
Following several years of delay in the H-7 development programme due to the dispute between the Air Force and Navy over the design of the aircraft, the original plan to develop a single aircraft that could meet the requirements of both services was finally dropped. Instead, 603 Institute and XAC introduced a design intended mainly for the PLA Navy as maritime strike role. The aircraft, re-designated JH-7 to reflect this change, made its maiden flight on 14 December 1988.
A small number (~20) of the JH-7 in the pre-production variant was delivered to the PLA Naval Aviation Corps 6th Division based at Dachang Air Station in Shanghai in 1992. However, the certification of the aircraft did not take place until 1998, when all technical problems and design flaws were solved. An additional 20 examples of the JH-7 in the formal production variant with some improvements were delivered between 2002 and 2004. By then, the production of the JH-7 had stopped and replaced by the improved JH-7A.
A pre-production variant JH-7 in final approach (Source: Chinese Internet)
One of the 20 formal production variant JH-7s delivered in 2002~04 (Source: Chinese Internet)
The JH-7 has high-mounted wings with compound sweepback and dog tooth leading. There are two small over-wing fences at approximately two third span. Two pilots sitting in tandem in the two-seat cockpit, with the rear seat slightly higher than the front seat to give the weapon operator a better filed of view. Each seat has its own back-hinged canopy. The cockpit and internal fuel tank are protected by armours.
The JH-7 is fitted with a twin-barrel Type 23-III (a copy of the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L) 23mm cannon with 200 rounds in a ventral installation. The aircraft also has seven external stores stations (one under fuselage, four under wings, and two on wing tips), with the centreline fuselage station and two inboard wing stations pumped to carry a 1,400-litre drop tank each.
In a typical maritime strike mission, the JH-7 would carry four YJ-81 subsonic anti-ship missiles and two PL-5C/E IR-homing short-range air-to-air missiles (SRAAM), with a 1,400 litre drop tank. The aircraft would fly at low altitudes to avoid the detection of the enemy ship’s air search radar, and launch the sea-skimming YJ-81 missiles at a distance of 30~40km off the target ship.
Alternatively, the JH-7 could carry up to 20 250kg low-drag general-purpose (LDGP) bombs for surface attack missions. In this configuration, each of the two inboard wing stations is fitted with a pylon integrated dispenser system that can carry up to six 250kg LDGP bombs. Each of the two outboard wing stations is fitted with a smaller pylon that carries four bombs.
The JH-7 is fitted with a Type 232H Eagle Eye mono-pulse fire-control radar. The radar feeds to a fire-control computer, which is connected to the integrated INS/GPS navigation system, anti-ship missile fire-control system, and head-up display (HUD) via a HB6096 (ARINC429) data bus. This makes possible accurate delivery of weapons over long distances in the sea. The JH-7 is also the first Chinese indigenous combat aircraft fitted with a self-defence ECM suite consisting of all-aspect radar warning receiver (RWR), active/passive jammer, and chaff/flare dispenser.
The JH-7 is powered by two British Rolls-Royce Spey Mk202 turbofan jet engines, each rated at 54.29kN (5,536kg, 12,250 lbs) dry or 91.26kN (9,305kg, 20,515 lbs) with afterburning. The fuel-efficient turbofan engine provides the aircraft with a much extended range (3,650~4,000km) compared to the turbojet-powered aircraft. The aircraft has no in-flight refuelling ability. The initial 20 JH-7s were powered by the Spey Mk202 engines imported from the UK in the 1970s. An additional batch of the Spey engine was imported in 2001 to power a further 20 aircraft. The WS-9 Qinling, a licensed copy of the Spey Mk202, was certified for production in 2003.
A JH-7 fighter-bomber carrying two PL-5 SRAAM on the wingtips (Source: Chinese Internet)
PLA Naval Aviation ground crew loading a JH-7 with the YJ-81 anti-ship missiles (Source: Chinese Internet)
The JH-7 fitted with pylon integrated dispenser systems to carry up to 20 250kg low-drag bombs (Source: Chinese Internet)
