The Chengdu J-9 ( Chinese: 歼-9) was an

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are c ...

that was cancelled during development in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(PRC). It was proposed in 1964 by the 601 Institute (Shenyang) as a higher-performing alternative to the

Shenyang J-8 The Shenyang J-8 (Simplified Chinese characters, Chinese: 歼-8; NATO reporting name: Finback) is a family of interceptor aircraft developed by the Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute, 601 Institute (Shenyang) in the People's Republic of China ( ...

.Gordon and Komissarov (2008): page 90 Development was disrupted by the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

and frequently changing requirements; in addition, development was transferred to the 611 Institute (Chengdu). The program was cancelled in 1980.Gordon and Komissarov (2008): page 91Gordon and Komissarov (2008): page 92

Development

By 1964, the

Chengdu J-7 The Chengdu J-7 (wikt:歼, Chinese: 歼-7; third generation export version F-7; NATO reporting name: Fishcan) is a People's Republic of China, Chinese fighter aircraft. It is a licensed production, license-built version of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gur ...

was inadequate to perform long-range, high-altitude interceptions. The Chinese Aeronautical Establishment held a conference on 25 October to discuss future fighters. The 601 Institute had two proposals; a twin-engined "scaled-up" J-7 which became the J-8,Gordon and Komissarov (2008): page 75 and a higher-performing single-engined option that became the J-9. The J-9 was technically riskier; it was not based on an existing design, and the required engine - an afterburning turbofan generating dry and reheat thrust - did not exist in China. Shenyang developed a delta and a double-delta concept in 1965. Development was officially approved following a

Ministry of Aerospace Industry The Ministry of Aerospace Industry of the People's Republic of China () was a government ministry of China from 1956 to 1988. The ministry was responsible for managing the Chinese space program. In 1988, the ministry was succeeded by the Mini ...

(MAI) conference on 12-17 January 1966 with the goal of either an

air superiority fighter An air superiority fighter (also styled air-superiority fighter) is a fighter aircraft designed to seize control of enemy airspace by establishing tactical dominance (air superiority) over the opposing air force. Air-superiority fighters are pri ...

or a pure interceptor. This was revised on April 1 with new requirements for endurance, rate of climb, and significantly increased range. A development schedule was approved on April 12. Shenyang responded first with the J-9A-IV (a tailed delta with lateral intakes) and then the J-9B-V (a tailless-delta); the former was unable to meet requirements. The Cultural Revolution paused development. Development on the J-9B-V resumed in 1968. The goal of flying a prototype by the 20th anniversary of the PRC in October 1969 could not be achieved due to major development problems. MAI shifted work back to the J-9A-IV. In addition, development was transferred to Chengdu because Shenyang was now fully occupied with the J-8. Wang Shounan became the new chief designer. The Ministry of Defense issued new requirements on 9 June 1970 - and slightly revised in November - for even greater range, speed, and altitude. Chengdu abandoned the J-9A-IV, and reworked the J-9B-V into the J-9B-VI. The J-9B-VI was a canard-delta with lateral intakes; a single ventral intake was rejected. The intended engine, the

Woshan WS-6 The WS-6 () was an unsuccessful turbofan development program from the People's Republic of China. Development started as part of the "Aviation Industry Science and Technology Development Program for 1978-1985" with the larger goal of developing ...

turbofan, encountered development problems; a reverse-engineered Khachaturov R29-300 turbojet, to be called the WP-15, was selected as a less powerful alternative. The requirements were revised in February 1975, calling for more range and an armament of four

PL-4 {{about, PL-4, a networking protocol, the PRC missile PL-4, PL-4 (missile) PL-4 or POS-PHY Level 4 was the name of the interface that the interface SPI-4.2 is based on. It was proposed by PMC-Sierra to the Optical Internetworking Forum. The name m ...

air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft (including unmanned aircraft such as cruise missiles). AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid-fuel roc ...

s. In November the State Planning Commission approved funding for five prototypes, with the first flight to take place in late-1980 or early-1981. However, the program was ended in 1980.

Specifications (J-9B-VI)

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links