Re: JL-15 and other trainers
The Mirage has some of the limitations of its predecessor in that:
1) The Delta wing bleeds off energy and the aircraft looses speed in turns
Yes but still have a much better instantaneous turn rate than the F-16.
2) Has short legs like its predecessor
Sorry, but this is not true, the Mirage 2000 have an excellent combat radius, in fact the latter variants (and upgrades) can use the oversized drop fuel tank developed for the Mirage 2000N, which allows even more combat range without impact in its payload.
It is also different from its predecessor in that:
1) It has relaxed stability and a leading edge flaps for better maneuverability (no relaxed stability in the J-7)
2) Is made from more composite materials and can handle higher G loads (no composite materials in the J-7)
So? Do not have relaxed stability is an disadvantage? The MiG-29 do not employ that technology and is still more maneuverable than the Mirage 2000 and F-16. Also for the materials, is relevant for combat performance? Having a conventional construction is not a flaw, just a fact.
1) The radom on the F-7 is smaller than that in the F-16 or the FC-1. Since detection is a direct correlation between the power output and the diameter of the radar receiver. Hence if you have a small receiver your radar will need to output a high amount of energy. The detection range of say an F-16 or and FC-1 will be greater than that of the F-7MG. Early detection means that you get the jump on the enemy.
Of course, but the use of the radar implies than you pre-alert the attacked aircraft, and the BVR combat do not only depends of how far you can detect the enemy, in fact there is not even a single BVR kill longer than a 30-40 kms, the paper of Colonel Higby about the reality of BVR combat is quite useful, an quoting him, to make a BVR kill you need NCTR and AWACS; but above all an enemy incapable to defend itself.
2) The amount of actual of missiles that can be carried on the aircraft is also limited.
Is a light fighter you know, if you want more firepower, then pay for it, but not all can pay a MiG-29, a Mirage 2000 or even a JF-17. That's my point, here in South America we have Bolivia and Paraguay as examples of this.
3) F-7 does not have an IRST system.
The F-16 also doesn't have and is still an excellent fighter, the Mirage 2000 can employ its IR missiles (Magic 2 Mk.II and MICA IR) as IRSTs, according with Dassault.
4) The airframe has limitation of that of a 2nd generation fighter and will be unable to perform the maneuvers of its 4th generation counterparts. It can not compete with the flyby wire and relaxed stability of modern aircraft.
The Pakistan Air Force says than the aircraft is comparable to the F-16A in maneuverability, so, can in fact
match an F-16 in that aspect, which is not a great achievement, by the way, but is a good reference.
5) The amount of fuel carried is not as great as the F-16 or the FC-1, so if a dogfight persists the favor will tip in the opponents favor.
The modern air combat doctrine states than if you see first, you must kill first. And that's an advantage for the J-7E, its an small aircraft, with a good jammer (like the Paj-Fa de Thales), and RAM coating can be very hard to detect, as I state before. The fuel is a good point, but the objetive for a short-range interceptor is disrupt the enemy incursion, making a combat-kill or a mission-kill as soon this is detected by the AWACS and/or the CGI network.
6) Also, a new radar or a few improvements does not make a MiG-21-93, MiG-21-2000 or a J-7MG a fourth generation fighter only an upgraded second-generation fighter.
If you can't pay for something better, is that or have nothing, or keep flying 2th generation fighters without any improvement.
The aircraft could be an excellent point defense interceptor, but not much else. Certainly not the backbone of your fighter force. If it is then your air force has more serious problems to worry about.
Precisely, and no more, no less. I repeat, is better than nothing, and a good first-step. because nothing can prevent you to acquire a more capable aircraft later.
With all the modification, in the end the aircraft will become either another aircraft or a too expensive modification that no one is going to purchase (or upgrade).
Why? The modification even exist (the J-7FS) and all what is need is a more capable radar, and sorry, but no matter how much you spend in the JL-9/J-7E, can never cost more than a one of the fighters mentioned in your post.
Greetings from Perú.
