The last three Thai Saab Gripen fighters should arrive in Thailand this afternoon after they were forced to extend their stay at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands after one was hit by lightning on its way to Surat Thani yesterday. This brings deliveries of the Gripen to the Royal Thai Air Force to 12, completing the Thai order.
First flown in 1988 as a result of a Chinese Navy requirement for a two-man all-weather, tandem cockpit, strike and reconnaissance aircraft, operations with the original JH-7 variant began in the 1990s. Despite not being regarded state of the art, the improved JH-7A version which is currently flown by Chinese Air Force and Navy units is nevertheless capable of supersonic precision strike using a variety of guided weapons including the C-801 and C-802 anti-ship missiles as well as the Russian KAB-series of precision-guided bombs. It could also serve as an air combat platform, being able to launch a variety of Chinese air-to-air missiles and is equipped with a pulse-Doppler radar. The type is marketed overseas as the FBC-1 Flying Leopard.
Currently lacking in modern fast jets with a precision strike capability, the KPAF was known to have operated the Sukhoi Su-7 'Fitter-A' (believed to have since been retired) and the Nanchang Q-5, both of which are obsolete by today's standards. The KPAF's principal ground attack platform currently consists of a regiment of Sukhoi Su-25K Frogfoot close air support aircraft based at Sunchon, north of the capital Pyongyang, which although heavily armoured and capable, are too slow to be an effective strike aircraft.
The KPAF's capabilities has been hamstrung by North Korea's isolation and moribund state of the nation's economy. China and Russia remain the only nations willing and able to supply it with advanced weapons, but even that has been called into doubt due to the North's inability to pay in hard currency and deteriorating relations with their principal backer China as a result of the North's nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions, which have repeatedly caused instability in the region.
A Chinese-built Xi'an JH-7 Flying Leopard fighter-bomber has crashed during a demonstration at an airshow in Pucheng, Shaanxi Province in northern China. A video of the crash (see embedded video above) released by CCTV, China's state broadcaster, appears to show the aircraft suddenly departing controlled flight and plunging nose-first into the ground, resulting in a fireball. One crewmember was seen to eject, reportedly with injuries, however another pilot was reported as missing. More reports from The Bangkok Post and CNN.
The JH-7 is in service with both China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF). First entering service in the 1990s, the new type replaced the elderly Harbin H-5 (Ilyushin Il-28 'Beagle' copy) and Nanchang Q-5 (Chinese built derivative of the MiG-19/Shenyang J-6). Considered a relatively limited ground attack platform powered by locally manufactured derivatives of imported Rolls-Royce Spey engines, an improved variant, the JH-7A, introduced a lighter, composite platform, new avionics and radar, precision strike capability and increased payload. 114 aircraft have been built so far and serve in the precision attack and maritime strike roles.
Royal Thai Air Force Gripen (Gripen International/Saab Photo)
