As everyone knows, through warplanes, a state can carry out aerial reconnaissance, patrols, and combat operations to ensure the security of its own airspace, prevent the intrusion of enemy fighters or other aircraft, and safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. After World War II, all countries attached great importance to the development and investment of fighter aircraft, and constantly strengthened their air power to ensure their national status and influence in the international community.
And Chinese fighters are also from scratch, and then to advanced. Today's most advanced fighter is the fifth-generation stealth fighter, and China's J-20 is one of them. However, due to the fact that fifth-generation aircraft are too sophisticated and expensive to manufacture, it is impossible to manufacture equipment in batches, so the modern air force is still dominated by third- and fourth-generation aircraft.
At present, the main model of the Chinese Air Force is the J-10C, and most of the old second-generation aircraft such as the J-7 and J-8 have been eliminated and placed in warehouses to eat dust. Speaking of which, many people are curious. In the troops, the J-8 is basically gone, why are there still 240 J-7s left? You know, compared with the J-8, the performance of the J-7 is slightly behind. This needs to be analyzed from multiple perspectives.
In terms of cost performance, the second-generation J-7 fighter has relatively more advantages. The J-7 is a first-generation jet fighter developed by China, imitating the MiG-21, which is a 2x sonic fighter that has been heavily equipped with air and naval forces and can perform ground attack missions.
The fighter has the characteristics of lightness, flexibility, low cost and high efficiency. Although outdated, it may be more economical to maintain and operate due to its simple design and lower cost. It is reported that the J-7 will cost about 60,000 yuan for one hour.
In contrast, although the J-8 is China's third-generation fighter, it is already relatively backward in terms of performance and technology, and its maintenance and operation costs are higher. Moreover, its fuel efficiency and maneuverability are not as good as those of the J-7 fighter, and the flight cost is higher. It is reported that the cost of one hour of use is 140,000 yuan, which is more than twice that of the J-7.
In addition, the cost is also a major factor influencing this decision. The production line of the J-7 fighter has completely gotten rid of the initial cost, and the manufacturing chain is mature, with a total of 1,577 aircraft built, many of which have been exported to many countries in the world and have been well received. The cost of producing a J-7 fighter is relatively low, about 29 million. And the J-8 fighter, due to its complex design and advanced technology, its production cost is relatively high, reaching more than 54 million.
The J-8 fighter is a second-generation fighter that has been in service for 80 years, and its design goal is to replace the J-7. The J-8 has strong performance in air combat and ground attack, but it does not have an advantage in the face of the same type of fighter in the world, and its maneuverability is relatively insufficient. In terms of climbing altitude and flight speed, it is not comparable to the J-7.
Although the J-8 was later improved and the J-8II and J-8III models were introduced, its performance still did not rival that of international advanced fighters. In a very awkward position. This is mainly because the fighter made its first flight in 1969, and only entered the army 10 years later, and its performance has lagged behind a lot when it entered service. After that, the production volume was not large, and it was phased out from 2011 onwards.
Although the J-7 is old, it is cost-effective. Another point is that it can be used as a training aircraft. It adopts a traditional mechanical mechanism, which helps pilots to master the driving skills as quickly as possible from the span of textbook theory to actual combat. Therefore, the large-scale use of the J-7 as a trainer aircraft is both economical and practical. This is also the main reason why the Air Force retains so many J-7s.