J-7E

J-7E

J-7II

J-8B

J-7E

J-7II

J-8B

China

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.7	11.3	11.0

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:300 000

Purchase:830 000

Description

The J-7E is a rank VII Chinese jet fighter with a battle rating of 10.7 (AB), 11.3 (RB), and 11.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update "Red Skies".

Based on the already well-developed J-7II and its modifications (J-7IIH/B/M; C/D), the J-7E offers a very different way to upgrade a Fishbed - not only does it have a more powerful engine and additional fuel, it also comes with the iconic Chinese Fishbed's double-delta wing with slats, making it a formidable competitor in terms of overall manoeuvrability and especially at lower speeds, which no Soviet Fishbed can ever offer. With its newer PL-5B missile, the J-7E can prove its abilities over his competitors and use its amazing manoeuvrability to finish off enemies once and for all.

General info

Flight performance

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Drogue parachute

Reduces braking distance when landing on any runway

Max speed

at 12 000 m2 387 km/h

Turn time24 s

Max altitude16 000 m

EngineShenyang Liming WP-13F

Type

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight10 t

Thanks to its new WP-13F engine and the unique slat-equipped double-delta wings, it has one of the most impressive manoeuvrability among all the current top-tier aircraft, at a whopping 29 secs even when stock in RB; leaving most its competitors (other than F-5 family) behind by at least 3 second; and thanks to the overall lighter weight to all Soviet Fishbeds, it has overall a higher thrust-weight ratio than all but the MiG-21bis, with the pair of slats that even works at 900 km/h, it should really help players in terms of snap-shot your enemies with a burst.

An often mentioned feature of J-7E is the iconic double-delta wings which comes with a pair of slats, the major difference from the previous J-7II and all other Soviet Fishbeds. This newly designed wings can even keep manoeuvrability even at higher speeds and the design is specifically aimed to enhance lower speed manoeuvrability as well, so new pilots to this plane will find her very different from Fishbeds. With the new WP-13F engine (reverse engineered R-13-300 with some newer technologies) and overall lighter than new airframe Fishbeds (PF and beyond), it can retain its speed while pulling at most 12G before your wings rip off, making it a tough opponent to deal with for heavier jets.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 12,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	2,187	2,156	16000	28.5	29.0	153.3	144.6	750
Upgraded	2,255	2,230		27.3	28.2	187.2	178.5

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
X	✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1365	500	N/A	525	450	~11	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 650	< 600	< 790	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Shenyang Liming WP-13F		1	5,712 kg		310 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)			Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		8m fuel	20m fuel	27m fuel
1,200 kg	Afterburning axial-flow turbojet		6,306 kg	7,176 kg	7,692 kg	9,500 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
Condition	100%	WEP	8m fuel	20m fuel	27m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	4,100 kgf	6,666 kgf	1.06	0.93	0.87	0.70
Optimal	4,100 kgf (0 km/h)	7,132 kgf (1,200 km/h)	1.13	0.99	0.93	0.75

Survivability and armour

Flares/Chaff

Aircraft countermeasures to distract IR and radar-guided missiles and also AA radar

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural1 365 km/h

Gear500 km/h

The J-7E comes with a 10 mm plate behind pilot's head and a 16 mm plate behind the ejection seat, while it doesn't prove to be much of a concern of cannons, it does help to stop some smaller caliber gunfire; as well as a 60 mm windshield that is durable enough to take some shots than all the remaining part of the aircraft.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB2 750 → 3 987

RB8 074 → 11 707

SB8 247 → 11 958

Total cost of modifications265 000

411 000

Talisman cost2 900

Crew training240 000

Experts830 000

Aces3 000

Research Aces1 140 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

100 / 310 / 600 %

238 / 238 / 238 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 Compressor Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 New boosters Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 480 Wings repair Research: 22 000 Cost: 34 000 710 G-suit Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 450 Engine Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 450	Airframe Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 480 Cover Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 450	NR_30_belt_pack Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 HF-6 Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 Flares/Chaff Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 HF-14 Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 480 PL-2 Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 480 NR_30_new_gun Research: 22 000 Cost: 34 000 710 Type 250 Research: 22 000 Cost: 34 000 710 EFS Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 450 Type 500 Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 450 PL-5B Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 450

Armaments

Offensive armament

The J-7E is armed with:

• 1 x 30 mm Type 30-1 cannon, belly-mounted (60 rpg)

Because the addition of a new fuel tank to the lower left side of the aircraft and compensate for the weight of newer missiles, unlike his predecessor, the J-7E has only a single Type 30-1 cannon on the starboard. For pilots without good skills, these 60 rounds will be very painful to use albeit 30 mm gun has good ballistic and damage (a few round burst can tear down most aircraft) ; while in SB, the J-7E comes with a HUD and the rangefinder is linked to it, making it somewhat useful to track down enemies and gun them down with a bit more precision. However, Pilots do need to compensate the offset of the starboard gun and aim a bit towards the left when shooting at closer ranges.

Suspended armament

The J-7E can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x PL-2 missiles
• 2 x 250 kg 250-3 bombs (500 kg total)
• 2 x PL-2 missiles + 2 x 250 kg 250-3 bombs (500 kg total)
• 2 x PL-5B missiles + 2 x 250 kg 250-3 bombs (500 kg total)
• 4 x 250 kg 250-3 bombs (1,000 kg total)
• 2 x 500 kg 500-3 bombs (1,000 kg total)
• 2 x 500 kg 500-3 bombs + 2 x 250 kg 250-3 bombs (1,500 kg total)
• 2 x PL-5B missiles + 2 x 500 kg 500-3 bombs (1,000 kg total)
• 2 x PL-2 missiles + 2 x 500 kg 500-3 bombs (1,000 kg total)
• 4 x PL-2 missiles
• 4 x PL-5B missiles
• 2 x PL-5B missiles
• 2 x PL-2 missiles + 2 x PL-5B missiles
• 8 x Type 130-2 rockets
• 2 x PL-2 missiles + 8 x Type 130-2 rockets
• 2 x PL-5B missiles + 8 x Type 130-2 rockets
• 16 x Type 130-2 rockets
• 14 x Type 90-1 rockets + 8 x Type 130-2 rockets
• 8 x Type 130-2 rockets + 2 x 250 kg 250-3 bombs (500 kg total)
• 8 x Type 130-2 rockets + 2 x 500 kg 500-3 bombs (1,000 kg total)
• 14 x Type 90-1 rockets + 2 x 250 kg 250-3 bombs (500 kg total)
• 14 x Type 90-1 rockets + 2 x 500 kg 500-3 bombs (1,000 kg total)
• 14 x Type 90-1 rockets
• 2 x PL-2 missiles + 14 x Type 90-1 rockets
• 2 x PL-5B missiles + 14 x Type 90-1 rockets
• 28 x Type 90-1 rockets

Usage in battles

With the new PL-5B introduced to the PLAAF that can pull 20G upon its targets albeit its 4G launch limit, the J-7E can send careless enemies straight back to the hanger with its higher explosive equivalent load. But all this come at a price: you only have the starboard Type 30-1 cannon as the last ditch weapon due to additional internal fuel tanks replaced the original port side gun, and thus you have only 60 rounds just like the original MiG-21F-13.

In this case, pilots should pick those enemies who just did their manoeuvre and be careful for the battlefield, then go straight upon them and aim a bit to the left to compensate the gun's placement; a burst from 30 mm can tear down anything that flies with some precision. And the overall playstyle of J-7E is similar to its fellow Fishbeds: keep yourself at lower altitude and start to "patrol" for anyone who is possibly in their tunnel vision (where a person has only a little FOV due to his speed), then go ahead and assault them with your powerful PL-5B AAMs. They can make really short work to the enemies but please do keep your launch overload in check as mentioned; if you only have PL-2 which is pretty just barely better than none or even worse, only your cannon left, be very cautious on when should you fire that burst or launch your pair of missiles. If you wasted the chance, pilots can meet their demise pretty quick if your team is on the disadvantage. And it should be reminded that unless really necessary or it is one-on-one dual with your enemy, in most cases DO NOT dogfight for very long time. But if you really have to, bleed the opponent's energy as much as you could: your higher thrust-to-weight ratio and double-delta shine here.

Enemies worth noting

• F-5 series: F-5s are always a tough enemy to deal with due to its smaller size and above average manoeuvrability, making him the arch-enemy of J-7E. But thanks to your overall higher thrust-to-weight ratio and double-delta, you can still do some dogfight with him but be caution with your next step: one small wrong move can mean your quick demise. The best solution to handle F-5s are your PL-5Bs, if they are careless enough, they will not have the chance to fly back to the airfield since they have already been shattered by the explosive mass of the missile. If missile is not an option, keep as fast as you could and leave the airspace for another attack run; only hitting him when the tides of battle really allows you to do so.

• Mirage III series: they have the infamous Magic R.550 and Matra R530 at their disposal and these missiles can send anything that flies back to the hangar with ease. Their high angle of attack also worth mentioning since it can still sacrifice some more speed and hit you with his cannons . In this case, keep your speed, try to bleed their energy and avoid their Magics with flares, without them, the J-7E with its higher acceleration and his manoeuvrability can duel with Mirage III with relative ease.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• New engines with higher thrust and overall acceleration thanks to the lighter weight than Soviet MiG-21s.
• Unique double-delta wings that gives impressive manoeuvrability at its tier.
• The very first Chinese aircraft with a multifunctional HUD, and the first PLAAF aircraft that came with CCIP.
• Comes with RWR and 72 countermeasures.
• PL-5B missiles, if used properly, can make very short work of your enemies with its 20G overload.
• Vast variety of ground attack weaponry.

Cons:

• Single gun on starboard with only 60 rounds.
• Missile launch overload of only 4G.
• Doesn't come with any semi-active radar-homing missiles due to the lack of radar.

History

The story of the J-7E goes way back to 1980s.

During the early 1980s, mainland China had better relationships with European countries who seek to open up their military equipment market; thus during these days the older J-7II received a overhaul upgrade coded J-7B (or F-7M in foreign market) with British electronic equipment; while at the same time Chinese got their hands on a few MiG-21MF from Egypt for upgrading the PLAAF fleet with a faster and radar-equipped aircraft, which later became the J-7C/D. This failed to meet Central Military Commission's and PLAAF's requirements on low speed dogfights, though they were impressed by the R-13-300 engines on them and thus it became the Shenyang Liming WP-13 engine.

Although all these must be supported with a higher military budget (which wasn't available in the 1980s due to the economic reform) and during the late 1980s, most of the budget went to the later J-10 "Firebird"; while there were the mass of the older Shenyang J-6 fleet that needed replacement. So the CAC (Chengdu Aircraft Corp.) decided based on their foreign users of F-7 suggestions on improving the overall manoeuvrability.

Thus, the J-7IV (that later became the J-7E) program started in 1987 and by May 1991, it made its first flight and 2 years later it came into PLAAF commission.

The main improvement was the manoeuvrability, with the new WP-13 engine and the iconic double-delta designed by Northwestern Polytechnical University (西北工业大学 in Xi'an, Shaanxi) with a slat that can be lowered to 25° (and in fact the first PRC fighter with slats) that really helped its manoeuvrability - in a PLAAF's exercise in 1993, it was concluded that it was 43% better than older J-7II, as well as longer range with additional fuel tanks at the cost of giving up the port side cannon due to decreasing usage of cannons. Other improvements included additional pair of pylon, domestic avionics with a HUD, as well as some of the cockpit gauges were digital.

These 260 J-7Es built from 1994 to 2001 became the cornerstone for PLAAF and in 2006; based on the later F-7PG that eventually came with a radar; the ultimate Fishbed of Mainland China- the J-7G came into service, with HMDs and latest avionics.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the J-7E from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #257 - Metal Beasts section at 00:27 discusses the J-7E.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance