Why didn't China buy the MiG-29?

F-111 35,000lbs ordnance 1,330mi range mach 2.5 top speed all weather capable

Strike Eagle 28,000lbs ordance 2,400 mi range mach 2.5 top speed all weahter capable

SU-24 17,600lbs ordance 350mi range mach 1.1 top speed all weather capable

JH-7 10,000lbs ordance 560mi range mach 1.2 top speed

China doesn't need the SU-24 as her engine desing matures she can build off her indeginous desings to produce a true strike bomber

zraver said:

F-111 35,000lbs ordnance 1,330mi range mach 2.5 top speed all weather capable

Strike Eagle 28,000lbs ordance 2,400 mi range mach 2.5 top speed all weahter capable

SU-24 17,600lbs ordance 350mi range mach 1.1 top speed all weather capable

JH-7 10,000lbs ordance 560mi range mach 1.2 top speed

China doesn't need the SU-24 as her engine desing matures she can build off her indeginous desings to produce a true strike bomber

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That distorts the stat a little bit.
JH-7A, top speed is mach 1.7, ordinance is 7000 kg = (15500 lb) for range of 1650 km, and that's the range using purely internal fuel.

Sure, strike eagle has a maximum ordinance of 11 tonnes with a long range, but if it hangs 11 tonnes using only internal fuel, it's not going to have that long of combat radius either.

But realistically speaking, something like F-15K is a whole different league from su-24 and JH-7A. An interesting debate would be whether or not su-34 can match the performance of latest variants of strike eagle. I would say not, because F-15's simply have a greater variety of weapons to to throw at you.

I had a devils time finding stats on the JH-7 so thank you. But my point remains that as China's own industries mature she won't need to consider Russian strike bombers.

SU-34 vs Strike eagle the Strike eagle not only has more weapons, but much better support in all areas.

The F-15 unit price is $43 million while the unit price of the JH-7 is below $25 million. So you could produce two JH-7 when producing one F-15. (2 : 1 ration) Two JH-7 payload= 14 tonnes while one F-15 = 11 tonnes. The JH-7 will be less of a risk to send into a hostile situation while sending in the F-15 will be risky and expensive.

not really

2 JH-7 or 1 F-15, which is a bigger slice of the military budget.

China 70 Billion 25x2=50 million .00714% of the yearly budget.

USA 650 Billion 43 million .006615%

so cost wise the its slightly more expensive Risk wise 2 planes are easier to shoot down than 1 simply beucase they present more targets. Human cost 2 crews vs 1 crew.

Capability wise the Eagle totally outlcasses it in range, speed, avoinics and self defense ability.

Not saying the the 7 is a bad plane, its a good strike craft. But it was not built to be a global power projection tool by a super power with acess to all the newest technology and a fully developed industrial and scientific base.

The 7 does point the way forward towards a truly high tech strike craft in the near future.

The F-15 outclasses the JH-7 in range, speed, avoinics and self defense ability. But you must have in mind the money and time spent on perfecting the F-15. The JH-7 project is way cheaper and has had less time to mature. If that much money was spend on the JH-7 as on the F-15 it will be on par level of performance and capability. Though China does tend to catch up quick so time may be debatable. I'm not saying anything bad about the F-15, actually quite fascinated and admire the F-15.

Chengdu J-10 said:

The F-15 unit price is $43 million while the unit price of the JH-7 is below $25 million. So you could produce two JH-7 when producing one F-15. (2 : 1 ration) Two JH-7 payload= 14 tonnes while one F-15 = 11 tonnes. The JH-7 will be less of a risk to send into a hostile situation while sending in the F-15 will be risky and expensive.

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current F-15E are definitely not 43 million, I have no idea where you got that number from. And if JH-7 is 25 million, no one in China would buy it. If you go by the F-15K purchase, it's 55-60 million + services which comes out to around 80 million.

JH-7A is a nice, cheaper fighter bomber that can perform better than su-24 and can carry pretty much everything made in China and Russia.

anyhow, let's bring the conversation back to Mig-29.

On the issue of Mig 29s vs Su-27s, they actually fought each other in the Ethiopia-Eritrea war. Go check it out. I think the Su-27 came out on top.

Finn McCool said:

On the issue of Mig 29s vs Su-27s, they actually fought each other in the Ethiopia-Eritrea war. Go check it out. I think the Su-27 came out on top.

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I think you can't take these events as good comparisons. The airforces were in no good conditions and the pilots on both sides lacked training. The Ethiopeans with their Su-27s were supported by the russians, including russian pilots flying missions.

Most, perhaps all Eritean MiG29s were lost in close-in dogfights using R-73. Several R-27 were fired, but with hardly any succes. As far as I know, both sides fired them from max range, what made it relatively easy for the other side to evade them.

tphuang said:

current F-15E are definitely not 43 million, I have no idea where you got that number from. And if JH-7 is 25 million, no one in China would buy it. If you go by the F-15K purchase, it's 55-60 million + services which comes out to around 80 million.

JH-7A is a nice, cheaper fighter bomber that can perform better than su-24 and can carry pretty much everything made in China and Russia.

anyhow, let's bring the conversation back to Mig-29.

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I said the JH-7A is below $25 million not on $25 million but way cheaper than $25 million. Moving on the controversial argument about the Su-27 VS Mig-29 conversation is more so the pilots ability to fly the plane effectively and skillfully. The pilots basically have to be duplicates in order to get a fully accurate result. The demo of the Su-27 VS Mig-29 pilots might be the same but in fact one is better trained then the other. Though if you are looking at the specs I would have to go for (if I was a customer) the Su-27 due to its speed, range and the engine.