Shenyang J - 6 The Shenyang J - 6 ( ; designated F - 6 for export versions ) ( NATO - Codename " Farmer " ) was the Chinese - built version of the Soviet MiG - 19 ' Farmer ' fighter aircraft . Design and development . Although the MiG - 19 had a comparatively short life in Soviet service , the Chinese came to value its agility , turning performance , and powerful cannon armament , and produced it for their own use between 1958 and 1981 . By the end of 2005 , J - 6s have been retired from active combat missions . While the basic MiG - 19 has been retired from all but three nations , its airframe contributed to the Chinese ground attack version , the Q - 5 , which still flies for numerous nations . The J - 6 was considered " disposable " and was intended to be operated for only 100 flight hours ( or approximately 100 sortie s ) before being overhauled . The Pakistan Air Force was often able to extend this to 130 hours with diligent maintenance . Description . The J - 6 has a maximum speed at altitude of 1 , 540 km / h ( 960 mph ) , Mach 1 . 45 . Service ceiling is 17 , 900 m ( 58 , 700 ft ) . Combat radius with two drop tanks is about 640 km ( 400 mi ) . Powerplant is two Liming Wopen - 6A ( Tumansky R - 9 ) turbojet engines . In addition to the internal cannon armament , most have provision for four wing pylons for up to 250 kg ( 550 lb ) each , with a maximum ordnance load of 500 kg ( 1 , 100 lb ) . Typical stores include unguided bombs , 55 mm rocket pods , or PL - 2 / PL - 5 ( Chinese versions of Soviet K - 13 ( NATO AA - 2 ' Atoll ' ) air - to - air missiles . Operational history . The J - 6 still is in service with North Korea , Myanmar ( Burma ) . Albania . Albanian Air Force J - 6s replaced the J - 5 s on the border to intercept Yugoslav incursions into Albanian airspace . However , the J - 6 was ineffective against the faster Yugoslav MiG - 21 ' Fishbed ' . Once the F - 7A became available , the J - 6 was redeployed to guard Tirana . As of 2005 all Albanian fighters were grounded due to lack of spare parts . Indo - Pakistan Wars . The F - 6 was flown by the Pakistan Air Force from 1965 to 2002 , the aircraft design undergoing around 140 modifications to improve its capabilities in the interceptor and close air support roles . The PAF F - 6 fighters participated in the Indo - Pak War 1971 against India , scoring approximately 6 confirmed aerial victories including one Indian Mig - 21 . The three Pakistani J - 6 squadrons flew nearly a thousand sorties , during which the PAF lost 3 F - 6 to ground fire and one in aerial combat . An F - 6 was also lost to friendly fire . One of the F - 6 pilots shot down was Wajid Ali Khan , who was taken as a POW and later became a Member of Parliament in Canada . The F - 6 was retired by PAF in 2002 Vietnam War . The supersonic speed advantage provided by the MiG - 21 ' s more modern turbojet engine was found to be not as useful in combat as originally thought , because aerial dogfight s at the time were conducted almost entirely in the sub - sonic speed regime . The J - 6 ( and hence the MiG - 19 also ) was found to be more manoeuvrable than the MiG - 21 and , although slower , its acceleration during dogfights was considered adequate . The North Vietnamese Air Force fielded at least one unit of J - 6 during the war , the 925th Fighter Regiment , beginning in 1969 . Ogaden War . Somalian J - 6 ' s participated in the Ogaden War and suffered greatly because of the superior opposition faced ( Cuban pilots fought for Ethiopia ) . Over 75 % of the Somali Air Force was destroyed in the war but some J - 6s and survived until the country turned into turmoil in the early 1990s . Uganda - Tanzania War . During the Uganda - Tanzania War , Tanzanian J - 6 ' s and Shenyang F - 5 s were tasked to handle any possible Ugandan fighters which consisted of MiG - 15 ' s and MiG - 17 ' s , while F - 7A ' s were tasked to handle more advanced aircraft of Ugandan allies , such as the Libyan Tupolev Tu - 22 ' Blinder ' . Kampuchea - Vietnam War . In the era of Khmer Rouge control of Cambodia , Khmer J - 6s participated in Kampuchea - Vietnamese border clashes for ground attacks . During the Vietnamese invasion in 1978 , the Cambodian aircraft were reluctant to take - off to intercept the Vietnamese aircraft . The Vietnamese captured a number of J - 6s and put them on public display . Iran - Iraq War . During Iran - Iraq War , both sides deployed J - 6 fighter jets . Iran ' s J - 6 fighters were reported sourced from North Korea . Iraq ' s J - 6 fighters were transferred from Egyptian Air Force . Most missions J - 6s performed during Iran - Iraq War were air - to - ground attack . Operators . There are currently two active operators of the Shenyang J - 6 out of fifteen total users in its history .