J-8 Finback

The Shenyang J-8 (NATO reporting name: Finback) is a family of twin-engine interceptors developed by the 601 Institute in the People's Republic of China. Conceived in the early 1960s as an enlarged derivative of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21F, it first flew in 1969 and entered service on 2 March 1980. The redesigned J-8II/J-8B, with lateral intakes and a nose radome, was approved for production in 1988 and formed the basis of all later members of the family.

Development

By 1964 the Chengdu J-7 was inadequate for long-range, high-altitude interception. At a Chinese Aeronautical Establishment conference on 25 October 1964, the 601 Institute proposed a twin-engined scaled-up J-7 and a single-engined design; the former became the J-8, the latter the Chengdu J-9, cancelled in 1980. The PLA approved requirements on 17 May 1965, with Huang Zhiqian as chief designer and Gu Songfen as deputy. Huang was killed in an air crash that May and was replaced by Wang Nanshou. Work was disrupted by the Cultural Revolution; the first prototype, "001 Red", was built between August 1967 and June 1968 and flew on 5 July 1969 with Yin Yuhuan at the controls. Between 1969 and 1979 the two prototypes logged 1,025 flights and 663 flight hours, revealing transonic buffeting, rear fuselage overheating, engine unreliability and airframe weaknesses. The design was finalized on 31 December 1979. The J-8 I (J-8A) programme began in February 1978; its first prototype burned during an engine run on 25 June 1980, the second flew on 24 April 1981, and production clearance followed on 27 June 1985, with about 100 built before production ended in 1987. J-8 II design work began in 1982 under Gu and He Wenzhi; the prototype flew on 12 June 1984. The 1986 "Peace Pearl" programme to fit US avionics and Martin-Baker seats to 50–55 aircraft for US$502 million was cancelled by China in 1990 after costs rose 35–40%.

Design

The original J-8 used a nose intake with an inlet cone housing a radar rangefinder, a front-hinged canopy, and two ventral fins. Power came from two Liyang WP-7B afterburning turbojets. The J-8 II reworked 70% of the airframe structure and systems, substituting an ogival radome and lateral intakes to accommodate the Type 208 pulse-Doppler radar, adding area ruling, WP-13A-II turbojets and a single folding ventral fin copied from the MiG-23. Manoeuvrability remained limited by a 6.9 g airframe limit. Later marks used the KLJ-1, Type 1471 and JL-10 (Type 1473) radars; the J-8D introduced a detachable inflight-refuelling probe, making it China's first IFR-capable fighter.

Armament

The original J-8 carried two Type 30-1 cannon and three hardpoints with a 2.5-tonne capacity. The J-8A substituted Type 23-III cannon and PL-2B and PL-5 missiles after the PL-4 failed. The J-8 II raised the hardpoint count to seven with a single Type 23-III cannon; the export F-8 IIM carries six PL-5 or PL-9, two R-27R1 or PL-11 semi-active missiles, two Kh-31 anti-ship missiles, Type 90-1 rocket pods, and up to five 500 kg or ten 250 kg bombs. The J-8H added the PL-11 and possibly the YJ-91 anti-radiation missile.

Operational History

On 1 April 2001 a J-8B collided with a US Navy EP-3E ARIES II 70 miles southeast of Hainan Island. The J-8B crashed and pilot Wang Wei was killed when his parachute failed to open; the EP-3E landed on Hainan with all 24 crew surviving. The PLAAF operates 50 J-8F/H, 24 JZ-8 and 24 JZ-8F; the PLANAF operates 24 J-8F.

Variants

• J-8A: Improved J-8 with SR-4 radar and air-to-air missile capability, originally designated J-8 I.
• J-8B: Redesigned aircraft with Type 208 pulse-Doppler radar, WP-13A-II turbojets and increased payload.
• J-8C: J-8B with IFR probe, Type 1471 radar and WP-13B turbojets, cancelled owing to unavailability of the WP-14 engine.
• J-8D: J-8B with IFR probe and J-8B Block 02 avionics, used mainly by the PLANAF with PL-9 missiles.
• J-8H: Fighter/strike development of the J-8D with KLJ-1 (Type 1492) radar, in service from 2002.