J-7 Series Fighters will withdraw from first line service
2011-12-14 (China Military News cited from strategypage.com)
China has officially withdrawn its MiG-21 clone (the J-7) from first line service. This comes as no surprise. In the last four years, China has more than doubled the number of modern combat aircraft (J-10, J-11, Su-27, Su-30 and J-8F) from 500 to over 1,200. Four years ago, China relied mainly on some 2,000 locally built copies of Russian MiG-19s (J-6) and MiG-21 (J-7). There are still several hundred bombers, mostly Russian knockoffs.
Another reason for withdrawing the J-7 to secondary regions is the inability to use J-7s a lot for training.
Thats important because China is revising its combat pilot training program. The existing system takes ten years of academic and flight training. The new program cuts that to 5-7 years, while increasing flight hours by over 40 percent. This is more in line with Western methods, while the existing system owes more to the one the Russians developed during the Cold War.
J-7G Fighter
China has long been the largest user of the MiG-21, in the form of their J-7 clone. China still exports J-7s, but has been rapidly retiring the ones remaining in Chinese service.
Ndege za Kijeshi za Kichina aina ya J7G hazitumiwi tena katika jeshi lao. Ndio maana wanawapa kama misaada Tanzania ili tujisifie tuna ndege za Kijeshi.