January 13, 2002 at 9:35 pm
Hi everybody out there,
has anyone of you some information about the current production of tactical fighter aircraft in China? It is being said in general terms that China is producing F-7, F-8 (sometimes even A-5/Q-5 Fantans)and F-11 (Su-27). But how much and what fraction for the PLAAF and PLAN? Given the expensive purchases of planes (Su-27, Su-30, Il-76), ships, subs and other equipment from Russia and other countries there seems to me not much money left for procurement of outdated fighters like F-7, F-8 or A-5s. So my guess would be some figure between 50 and 100 a year (closer to 50?) for domestic use and maybe the same number for export.
And: How many F-8 are in service in China? You get any numbers from 100 to 400. Any details?