Xian JH-7
The Xian JH-7 is a Chinese-built fighter-bomber developed to give the People's Liberation Army a long-range, heavy-payload strike aircraft broadly comparable in role to Western types like the Panavia Tornado. Its two-seat cockpit splits piloting and weapons-system duties between a pilot and a dedicated weapons officer, common on strike aircraft carrying complex precision-guided munitions. It's used primarily for anti-ship and long-range land-attack missions by China's naval and air force strike squadrons. Continued upgrades have kept later JH-7A variants in frontline Chinese service well into the 2020s.
Did you know?
A pilot up front and a weapons officer behind mark the JH-7's two-seat cockpit, built for managing complex strike missions.
Specifications
| Length | 22.3 m (73 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 12.8 m (42 ft) |
| Height | 6.2 m (20 ft) |
| Persons on board | 2 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 28.4 t |
| Range | 1,600 NM (2,963 km) |
| Maximum speed | 950 kt (1,759 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 51,000 ft (15,545 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 36,000 ft (10,973 m) |
| Take-off distance | 920 m (3,018 ft) |
| Landing distance | 1,000 m (3,281 ft) |
| Fuel capacity | 10,000 l |
| Engines | 2x Xian WS-9 |
| Units built | 270 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Xian JH-7 starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Xian, the JH-7 family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
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