May 13,
2008: Venezuela is buying a dozen, or
more K-8 trainer aircraft from China, for about $25 million each. China has exported K-8s to several other
countries (often at bargain prices), including Myanmar (Burma).
The K8
(also called JL-8) is a 4.3 ton, two seat, jet trainer. It uses a American,
Chinese or Ukrainian engines. Originally, China was going to just use a 3600
pound thrust American engines. But after the 1989 Chinese crackdown on
pro-democracy forces, the United States cut off the supply of engines. This
encouraged China to design a similar engine (the WS-11). But China has had a
hard time mastering the precise technologies and manufacturing techniques
needed to build jet engines. So it has been buying the Ukrainian AI-25TLK,
while it works to perfect its own engine design.
The K8 has
a cruising speed of 800 kilometers an hour, endurance of four hours and five
hard points. It can carry a 23mm cannon in the hard point under the fuselage,
and half a ton of bombs, rockets or missiles, from the four hard points on the
wings. This gives the aircraft combat capability, at least against a foe with
few anti-aircraft weapons. Electronics on the JL-8 are minimal, as it's basically
a two seat trainer, to prepare fighter pilots before they climb into anything
from a an F-16 to Su-30s (Venezuela has
both).
