Chinese fighter jet crashes in Hainan province
According to China's South China Morning Post (SCMP), a Chinese fighter jet crashed in Hainan on March 12 during training, killing two pilots.
SCMP quoted the Chinese Ministry of National Defense as saying that a fighter jet of the People's Liberation Army Navy crashed in southern Hainan province while conducting a training flight.
| Clip of the scene where the Chinese fighter crashed on March 12. |
The accident site is in the city of Luodong in the southwest of Hainan Island.
Both pilots on board the fighter jet were confirmed dead. Fortunately, no civilians on the ground were injured in the crash.
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| Scene of the Chinese fighter jet crash on March 12. |
Although the Chinese Ministry of Defense did not disclose the type of aircraft that crashed, based on the information available, SCMP said it was most likely a JH-7. This fighter jet was officially put into service with the Chinese Air Force and Navy in the 1990s.
But since its inception, a series of unfortunate accidents with the JH-7 have been recorded. Despite this, the JH-7 is still considered the pride of China's defense industry.
According to public information, the JH-7 is a two-seat, twin-engine fighter aircraft currently serving in the naval air force and the People's Liberation Army Air Force. China currently has about 160-180 JH-7 aircraft and is still in production.
The aircraft's production entities are Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation and the 602nd Aircraft Design Institute. The first batch of JH-7s entered service in the mid-1990s for evaluation testing, and the improved JH-7A version entered service in 2004.
In terms of technical specifications, the JH-7 has a length of 22.32 m; a wingspan of 12.7 m; a height of 6.57 m; an empty weight of 14,500 kg; and a maximum take-off weight of 28,475 kg. This fighter-bomber is capable of operating day and night, in all weather conditions.
The aircraft is equipped with two Xian WS9 engines, thrust 54 kN, afterburner 91.2 kN each; maximum speed 1,808 km/h at altitude 11,000 m (36,000 ft); patrol speed 903 km/h; range 3,650 km; combat radius 1,650 km (890 nautical miles); service ceiling 15 km.
The JH-7 can carry 6,500 kg (14,500 lb) of weapons; is equipped with one 23 mm GSh-23L twin-barreled automatic cannon, 300 rounds of ammunition; carries PL-5 air-to-air missiles, YJ-8K and YJ-82K anti-ship missiles, YJ-91 anti-radar missiles and is equipped with free-fall and laser-guided bombs.
