Re: JH-7/JH-7A Thread
bubble canopy? raised seats?? simply put, the JH-7/A does not need such useless up-grades that only serve to drive up the unit price. I highly doubt having 360 degree view would serve its purpose as an anti-shipping platform where the targets are hundreds of kilometers away. If you get in a dog fight in a JH-7/A then im guessing ur only real option would be to afterburn your way out of there as IMO the JH-7/A is not a dog fighting platform.
Also i don't agree more composites should be used. Most composites are used on multi-role / air-superiority fighters where the light materials will increase manouverability and range. On a strike aircraft like JH-7/A, composite material will again, only serve to drive up unit costs. It doesnt need to be manouverable and range can easily be increased by external tanks, although asmittedly it would require some sacrifice in its payload.
composite are impractical on strike aircraft where it needs a high sortie/maintainence ratio. Anyone here seen a crunched peice of composite? I have, on a ferrai f40 when it crashed on a test track. The whole frontal section had to be replaced whereas a bent peice of aluminium can simply be hammered back into place.
Im no expert in the field of aircraft manufacture so the above is only my opinion