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General information | |
Type | Fighter-bomber |
National origin | China |
Manufacturer | Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation |
Status | Operational[1] |
Primary users | People's Liberation Army Navy |
Number built | 270 (as of 2018)[2] |
History | |
Manufactured | 1988–2017 |
Introduction date | 1992 |
First flight | 14 December 1988 |
The Xi'an JH-7 (simplified Chinese: 歼轰-7; traditional Chinese: 殲轟-7; pinyin: jiān hōng qī – fighter-bomber; NATO reporting name Flounder),[3] also known as the FBC-1 (Fighter/Bomber China-1) Flying Leopard, is a Chinese tandem two-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber in service with the People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF), and the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).[4] The main contractors are Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation (XAC) and the 603rd Aircraft Design Institute (later named the First Aircraft Institute of AVIC-I).
The first JH-7s were delivered to the PLANAF in the mid-1990s for evaluation, with the improved JH-7A entering service in 2004.[5]