Chengdu J - 7 The Chengdu Jian - 7 ( ; export versions F - 7 ; NATO Reporting Name : Fishbed ) is a People ' s Republic of China license - built version of the Soviet Mikoyan - Gurevich MiG - 21 . Though production ceased in 2013 , it continues to serve , mostly as an interceptor , in several air forces , including China ' s . Design and development . In the 1950s and early 1960s , the Soviet Union shared most of its conventional weapons technology with the People ' s Republic of China . The two countries cooperated in the early stage development of the famous MiG - 21 short - range interceptor - fighter aircraft . Powered by a single engine and designed on a simple airframe , these fighters were inexpensive but fast , suiting the strategy of forming large groups of ' people ' s fighters ' to overcome the technological advantages of Western aircraft . However , the Sino - Soviet split abruptly ended Chinese early participation in the developmental program of the MiG - 21 , and from July 28 to September 1 , 1960 , the Soviet Union withdrew its advisers from China , resulting in the project being forced to stop in China . Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev unexpectedly wrote to Mao Zedong in February , 1962 , to inform Mao that the Soviet Union was willing to transfer MiG - 21 technology to China , and he asked the Chinese to send their representatives to the Soviet Union as soon as possible to discuss the details . The Chinese viewed this offer as a Soviet gesture to make peace , and they were understandably suspicious , but they were nonetheless eager to take up the Soviet offer for an aircraft deal . A delegation headed by General Liu Yalou , the commander - in - chief of the PLAAF and a Soviet military academy graduate , was dispatched to Moscow immediately , and the Chinese delegation was given three days to visit the production facility of the MiG - 21 , which was previously off - limits to foreigners . The authorization for this visit was personally given by Nikita Khrushchev , and on March 30 , 1962 , the technology transfer deal was signed . However , given the political situation and the relationship between the two countries , the Chinese were not optimistic about gaining the technology , and thus they were prepared for reverse engineering . Russian sources state that several complete examples of the MiG - 21 were sent to China , flown by Soviet pilots , and China also received MiG - 21Fs in kits , along with parts and technical documents . Just as the Chinese had expected , however , when the Soviets delivered the kits , parts and documents to Shenyang Aircraft Factory five months after the deal was signed , the Chinese discovered that the technical documents provided by the Soviets were incomplete and that some of the parts could not be used . China set about to reverse - engineer the aircraft for local production , and in doing so , they succeeded in solving 249 major problems and reproducing eight major technical documents that were not provided by the Soviet Union . The Discovery Channel ' s " Wings Over The Red Star " series claims that the Chinese intercepted several Soviet MiG - 21s en route to North Vietnam ( during the Vietnam War ) , but these aircraft did not perform in a manner consistent with their original specifications , suggesting that the Chinese actually intercepted down - rated aircraft that were intended for export , rather than fully capable production aircraft . For this reason , the Chinese had to re - engineer the intercepted MiG - 21 airframes in order to achieve their original capabilities . This re - engineering effort was largely successful , as the Chinese - built J - 7 aircraft showed only minor differences in design and performance from the original Soviet MiG - 21 . In March 1964 , Shenyang Aircraft Factory began the first domestic production of the J - 7 jet fighter , which they successfully accomplished the next year . However , the mass production of the J - 7 aircraft was severely hindered by an unexpected social and economic problem — the Cultural Revolution — that resulted in poor initial quality and slow progress , which , in turn , resulted in full - scale production only coming about in the 1980s , by which time the original aircraft design was showing its age . The J - 7 only reached its Soviet - designed capabilities in the mid 1980s . However , the fighter is affordable and has been widely exported as the F - 7 , often with Western systems incorporated , like the ones sold to Pakistan . Based on the expertise gained by this program , China later developed the Shenyang J - 8 by utilizing the incomplete technical information acquired from the Soviet Ye - 152 developmental jet . In May 2013 , it was reported that J - 7 production has been ceased after decades of manufacturing . The last 12 F - 7BGIs were delivered to the Bangladeshi Air Force . Operational history . Most actions carried out by the F - 7 export model have been air - to - ground missions . In air - to - air missions , there have rarely been any encounters resulting in dogfights . Namibian AF ordered 12 Chengdu F - 7NMs in August 2005 . Chinese sources reported the delivery in November 2006 . This is believed to be a variation of the F - 7PG acquired by Pakistan with Grifo MG radar . In early 2008 , Nigeria procured 12 F - 7NI fighters and three FT - 7NI trainers to replace the existing stock of MiG - 21 aircraft . The first batch of F - 7s arrived in December 2009 . Sudanese F - 7Bs were used in the Sudanese Civil War against ground targets . Tanzanian Air Force F - 7As served in the Uganda – Tanzania War against Uganda and Libya in 1979 . Its appearance effectively brought a halt to bombing raids by Libyan Tupolev Tu - 22 s . During Zimbabwe ' s involvement in the DRC , six or seven F - 7s were deployed to the Lubumbashi IAP and then to a similar installation near Mbuji - Mayi . From there , AFZ F - 7s flew dozens of combat air patrols in the following months , attempting in vain to intercept transport aircraft used to bring supplies and troops from Rwanda and Burundi to the Congo . In late October 1998 , F - 7s of the No . 5 Squadron were used in an offensive in east - central Congo . This began with a series of air strikes that first targeted airfields in Gbadolite , Dongo and Gmena , and then rebel and Rwandan communications and depots in the Kisangani area on November 21 . The stationing of F - 7As in north of the country , near the border successfully checked Yugoslav incursions into Albanian airspace . In the mid 1990s , the PLAAF began replacing its J - 7Bs with the substantially redesigned J - 7E variant . The wings of the J - 7E have been changed to a unique " double delta " design offering improved aerodynamics and increased fuel capacity , and the J - 7E also features a more powerful engine and improved avionics . The newest version of the J - 7 , the J - 7G , entered service with the PLAAF in 2003 . East and South - East Asia . The role of the J - 7 in the People ' s Liberation Army is to provide local air defence and tactical air superiority . Large numbers are to be employed to deter enemy air operations . F - 7Ms were planned to use for interception . However , they are now out of service and stored as reserve aircraft as new superior fighters arrived . Relations between Egypt and Libya deteriorated after Egypt signed a peace accord with Israel . Egyptian Air Force MiG - 21 s shot down Libyan MiG - 23 s , and F - 7Bs were deployed to the Egyptian - Libyan border along with MiG - 21s to fend off possible further Libyan MiG - 23 incursions into Egyptian airspace . Although not in any known combat actions , it was in several movies portraying Iraqi MiG - 21s during the Iran – Iraq War . One tells the story of an Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force strike on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak on September 30 , 1980 . Another " Attack on H3 " tells the story of the 810 km - deep raids into the Iraqi heartland against Iraqi Air Force airfields on April 4 , 1981 , and other movies depicting the air combat in 1981 that resulted in the downing of around 70 Iraqi aircraft . However , unconfirmed reports claimed that during the later stages of the war , these aircraft were used for air - to - ground attacks . On July 24 , 2007 an Iranian F - 7 crashed in northern eastern Iran . The plane crashed due to technical difficulties . F - 7Bs paid for by Egypt arrived too late for the aerial combat in the early part of the Iran – Iraq War , but later participated mainly in air - to - ground sorties . South Asia . The Bangladeshi Air Force , currently operates F - 7MB Airguards , and F - 7BG / Gs interceptors . The F - 7MB / A - 5Cs will be replaced by 16 F - 7BGI fighters by 2014 . BAF has also upgraded all of its F - 7BGs to fire Chinese built LS - 6 and LT - 2 ground attack munitions , giving them a potent strike capability . Pakistan is currently the largest non - Chinese F - 7 operator , with ~ 120 F - 7P and ~ 60 F - 7PG . The Pakistan Air Force is to replace its entire fleet of F - 7 with the JF - 17 multirole fighter , all F - 7P are planned to be retired and replaced with JF - 17 Thunder aircraft by 2015 . Sri Lanka Air Force used three F - 7BS and for ground attack missions against the LTTE and three FT - 7 trainer . Due to the lack of endurance and payload , SLAF some times uses their F - 7s for pilot training purposes . Early 2008 the air force received six more advanced F - 7Gs , these will be primarily used as interceptors . All The F - 7G ' s , F - 7BS ' s and FT - 7s are flown by the No 5 Jet Squadron . Sri Lankan officials reported that on 9 September 2008 , three Sri Lankan Air Force F - 7s were scrambled after two rebel flown Zlín - 143 were detected by ground radar , two were sent to bomb two rebel airstrips at Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi areas , the government claims the third intercepting one ZLin - 143 resulting in one LTTE Zlín - 143 shot down by the chasing F - 7G using air to air missiles while the rebel flown light aircraft was returning to its base at Mullaitivu after a bombing run against Vavuniya base . There is no public evidence for shooting down LTTE flight . Variants . Approximately 48 variants of the J - 7 exist and are listed below .