January
21, 2007: The Chinese Navy has worked most of the bugs out of its locally
designed and manufactured light bomber. The JH-7 serves the same purpose as the
American F-15E or the Russian Su-24. The JH-7 is a 27 ton, twin engine
aircraft, with a 40 foot wingspan. However, it is underpowered, and only has a
five ton bomb load. The navy would use it mainly for carrying anti-ship
missiles. The aircraft has an operational radius of about 900 kilometers,
enabling it to contribute to an attack on Taiwan, or a blockade of the islands
ports.
The
JH7 entered service a decade ago, and about a hundred (four regiments) of them
are available. Mass production was delayed because the aircraft was designed to
use a British engine. China thought it could reverse-engineer this engine, but
was unable to do so, and had to arrange for a manufacturing license. The
Chinese air force has expressed some interest in the aircraft, especially now
that the Chinese are making smart bombs.
