Agreed in the main.I suspect that the relatively cheap cost, acceptable payload capacity, funneling money to Xian, and the fact that J-11 series fighters have not been fully developed and ramped up, are the main reasons the JH-7 series still exists. But this is a fighter that has reached its limit of usefulness. Upgrades like the "JH-7B" and "JH-7C" can do little to change the fact that at best this is a gen3.5 plane, capable of being nothing more than a bomb truck that cannot handle any significant airborne threat like its modern compatriots the J-10 series, J-11 series, etc. who can all dump their ordinance and defend themselves effectively in air-to-air combat if necessary. I suspect that once the J-11BSH and/or J-16 start being produced in numbers within the next 10 years or so, they will replace this legacy plane and never look back.
Just the same, a longer range, better sensor, a little more maneuverable, and higher ordinance rate upgrade was an effective stop gap over the next several years.
There are still a lot of other aircraft that need replacing, and having these improved JH-7s can help in the overall endeavor.
Heck, look at the H-6K. It is still an old design despite the significant improvements.
But with its range and capability to haul sophisticated ALCMs around, it is still a potent threat.
The JH-7B will be the same out over the SCS and places like that and will allow the much more modern and capable aircraft to be used in other more critical places first.
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