Chinese J-7 export to the US.

shen

Senior Member
Anyone else heard of this? Apparently China export a group of J-7 to the US in either the 70's or 80's (different sources) for test and evaluation purposes. I came across reference to this in several places. Anyone know more about this?

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In 1987, the U.S. Air Force bought 12 new
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from China for use in the Constant Peg program. At the same time, it retired the remaining MiG-21F-13 Fishbeds acquired from Indonesia.

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Manclark did not say so, but a photo of one of the new jets showed that it was a Chinese J-7, with the early MiG-21F nose and two-piece canopy.
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
Anyone else heard of this? Apparently China export a group of J-7 to the US in either the 70's or 80's (different sources) for test and evaluation purposes. I came across reference to this in several places. Anyone know more about this?

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Probably used to study the nature of the J-7s since it mirrored so much like the Mig 21. They needed a full wing for Op For training.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
The 4477th Test Evaluation Squardon was a specialized Aggressor training Squadron in the USAF but with some joint training and loaned members of the USN and USMC. They Operated actual "Threat Aircraft" as part of Red Flag Exercises.

@ Equasion They had a full wing.

Early evaluation of Mig 21 showed that it was a almost exact match for the F5 Freedom fighter which was then used as the main Aggressor fighter of the USAF/USN and USMC ( to this day)

The J7s were used along side actual Mig 21s as a simulated enemy fighter force. Some were paired off against American fighter pilots in there F4,F14,F15,F16 ecta ecta.... To get them up to speed on the advantages and detraction's of the Dreaded Mig others Served as spare parts and at least one ( not sure if J7 or Mig) was gutted and used as a photo op prop. They also operated Mig 23's. Along side the Chinese, Migs and J7s were scourced by the CIA from Arab defectors to Israel to nations who just no longer could deal with the demands of the Soviet Block.
Eventually before the official fall of the cold war Constant Peg was canned after a high ranking general in the USAF crashed a Mig23.

Rumors persist that although the 4477th is disbanded and declassified, Somewhere in the USAF is a squadron flying modern Russian and Chinese Birds for the same mission.
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Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
I have no doubts. The US regularly got ahold of Russian/Eastern Block nation aircraft to test them, to fly against them (with the 4477th as TE explained) , and to ensure that US (and allied) pilots knew how to deal with those aircraft and defeat them.

The US has been successful in doing this for decades. either through buying them, having then given to us by nations who captured some, given to us by nations who broke from the old Soviet Union with its fall, b some pilots who flew them out and defected, and through covert methods.

The Soviets/Russia did similar things...but not nearly on the scale or with the success the US has done.
 
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suby68

New Member
Registered Member
During the 1980s the US sold China advanced equipment like the Hughes AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder Radar and a few J7s were probably not difficult to obtain.
China also sold J7s to countries in the Middle East and Africa. From there for the right amount of money anyone could get them.
 
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