{"id":32592764,"date":"2026-11-13T10:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T09:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/shenyang-j-8-finback-china-twin-engine-interceptor-j-8ii-history\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T10:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T09:37:29","slug":"shenyang-j-8-finback-china-twin-engine-interceptor-j-8ii-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/es\/shenyang-j-8-finback-china-twin-engine-interceptor-j-8ii-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Shenyang J-8 Finback: China&#8217;s Twin-Engine Cold War Interceptor"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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The country&rsquo;s best fighter, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/chengdu-j-7\/\">J-7<\/a>, a home-built copy of the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-21-fishbed\/\">MiG-21<\/a>, lacked the range and altitude performance to catch high-flying bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. China needed a bigger interceptor, and it decided to design one itself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Their answer was the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/shenyang-j-8\/\">Shenyang J-8<\/a>, known to NATO as the Finback. It took fifteen years to finish, was obsolescent on the day it entered service, and was then rebuilt almost from scratch. Yet it guarded Chinese skies for more than four decades, and in 2001 a J-8 was at the centre of a serious crisis between Beijing and Washington.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Type:<\/strong> Single-seat, twin-engine supersonic interceptor<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Designer:<\/strong> 601 Institute, Shenyang; built by Shenyang Aircraft<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>NATO name:<\/strong> Finback-A (J-8), Finback-B (J-8II)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Origins:<\/strong> Scaled-up, twin-engine J-7 (MiG-21) concept, 1964<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>First flight:<\/strong> J-8: 5 July 1969; J-8II: 12 June 1984<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>In service:<\/strong> From 1980<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Engines:<\/strong> Two Liyang WP-7B (J-8); two WP-13 family turbojets (J-8II and later)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Top speed:<\/strong> Around Mach 2.2 (published figure for the F-8IIM)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Peace Pearl:<\/strong> US avionics upgrade, contract 1987, cancelled 1990<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Hainan incident:<\/strong> 1 April 2001, J-8II collided with US Navy EP-3E; EP-3 landed at Lingshui<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A MiG-21, scaled up and doubled<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>At a conference on 25 October 1964, Shenyang&rsquo;s 601 Institute offered two ideas: a high-performance single-engine design and a lower-risk, scaled-up J-7 with two engines. The safe option won. The J-8 kept the MiG-21&rsquo;s general layout and nose intake with a small shock cone, but grew much larger and carried two Liyang WP-7B afterburning turbojets side by side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Then politics intervened. The Cultural Revolution tore through the programme: the factory&rsquo;s chief engineer died, his successor was dismissed, and the prototypes were built almost in secret. The first J-8 finally flew on 5 July 1969, but testing crawled along for a decade, uncovering severe buffeting, overheating of the rear fuselage and unreliable engines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/shenyang-j-8-original-nose-intake-24th-air-division.jpg\" alt=\"Original Shenyang J-8 interceptor with MiG-21 style nose intake and shock cone, preserved at a museum outside Beijing\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An original J-8 of the PLAAF 24th Air Division, preserved at the aviation museum outside Beijing. The nose intake and small shock cone show its MiG-21 ancestry. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:J-8_fighter_24_air_division.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Max Smith \/ Wikimedia Commons, public domain<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The design was not finalised until the last day of 1979, and the J-8 formally entered service in 1980. Its tiny radar rangefinder in the intake cone was hopeless against modern targets. An improved J-8 I with a real radar followed, but only about 100 were built before production ended in 1987.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The J-8II: a new face<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Shenyang&rsquo;s fix was radical. Work on the J-8II, later called the J-8B, began in the early 1980s, and about 70 percent of the airframe and systems were reworked. The nose intake disappeared, replaced by a pointed radome housing a pulse-Doppler radar, with the air now fed through intakes on the fuselage sides, an arrangement that recalled the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-23-flogger\/\">MiG-23<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-4-phantom-ii\/\">F-4 Phantom<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>More powerful WP-13 turbojets went in, and a single large ventral fin, which folded sideways on the ground, replaced the twin fins. The J-8II first flew on 12 June 1984. Performance improved markedly, but its avionics still lagged badly behind Western and Soviet fighters.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-9QpnotFQN0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">Weapon Detective&rsquo;s history of the Shenyang J-8 Finback, from the original nose-intake interceptor to the J-8II family.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Peace Pearl: an American Finback<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>China then tried something that sounds unthinkable today. Under a US Air Force programme called Peace Pearl, Grumman received a contract in August 1987 to upgrade 50 to 55 J-8IIs with American avionics, reported to be worth around $502 million. The package centred on the Westinghouse AN\/APG-66 radar from early <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-16-fighting-falcon\/\">F-16s<\/a>, with a new head-up display, inertial navigation, cockpit displays and ejection seats.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Two J-8IIs were shipped to the United States in early 1989 for the work. Then, in June 1989, tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square. Western arms embargoes followed, the cost of the programme rose, and Peace Pearl was cancelled in 1990. The two airframes went home without their new equipment. In 1991 China turned to Moscow instead and bought <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/su-27-flanker\/\">Su-27 Flankers<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/shenyang-j-8ii-finback-b-0001-museum.jpg\" alt=\"Shenyang J-8II Finback-B with pointed radome and side air intakes preserved in China\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A preserved J-8II, the Finback-B. The pointed radome and side intakes replaced the original nose intake to make room for a real radar. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Shenyang_J-8II_(Finback-B).jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Flavio Mucia (AMB Brescia) \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Shenyang kept improving the Finback anyway, using domestic, Russian and Israeli help. The J-8D added an in-flight refuelling probe and served mainly with the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/peoples-liberation-army-naval-air-force\/\">People&rsquo;s Liberation Army Naval Air Force<\/a>. The final fighter version, the J-8F, flew in 2000 with a modern glass cockpit and a much better radar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Hainan, 1 April 2001<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>On the morning of 1 April 2001, two naval J-8IIs took off from <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-bases\/lingshui\/\">Lingshui<\/a> on Hainan Island to intercept a US Navy EP-3E Aries II signals intelligence aircraft flying over the South China Sea. The lead pilot was Lieutenant Commander Wang Wei; his wingman was Zhao Yu.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;We were obviously being intercepted, and the [Chinese] aircraft was approaching much closer than normal, about three to five feet off our wing.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Lt. Shane Osborn<\/strong> &mdash; US Navy EP-3E pilot, speaking after the April 2001 collision (via Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>About 70 miles southeast of Hainan, Wang&rsquo;s J-8 struck the EP-3&rsquo;s left outer propeller and then its nose. The fighter broke up and fell into the sea; Wang ejected, but he was never found. The badly damaged EP-3 snap-rolled almost inverted before its pilot, Lieutenant Shane Osborn, regained control and made an emergency landing at Lingshui. All 24 crew survived and were released on 11 April.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Washington and Beijing told very different stories. The Americans said the fighter had made repeated, dangerously close passes and then misjudged its closure rate. China said the slow American aircraft had veered into the jet. Afterburner has examined the incident in detail in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/ep-3-hainan-island-incident-2001\/\">The Collision That Nearly Sparked a War<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/hainan-2001-ep-3-collision-deliberate-wang-wei-question\/\">Did China Crash a US Spy Plane on Purpose?<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;The wild and arrogant planes also often jumped up and down and suddenly turned steep left and right to provoke the pilots of our side again and again with extremely dangerous actions.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Liberation Army Daily<\/strong> &mdash; PLA newspaper, giving China&rsquo;s version of US surveillance flights, 2001 (via Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/us-navy-ep-3e-aries-ii-file-photo.jpg\" alt=\"US Navy EP-3E Aries II signals intelligence aircraft in flight over snow-covered mountains\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A US Navy EP-3E Aries II, the type a J-8II collided with off Hainan on 1 April 2001. This file photo was released by the Department of Defense the day after the collision. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Defense.gov_News_Photo_010402-D-0000M-001.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Department of Defense \/ Wikimedia Commons, public domain<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The long goodbye<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The J-8&rsquo;s numbers were always modest by Chinese standards, and its role shrank as the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/peoples-liberation-army-air-force\/\">People&rsquo;s Liberation Army Air Force<\/a> brought in the J-10, <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/shenyang-j-11\/\">J-11<\/a> and later stealth fighters. Production of fighter versions ended, but Shenyang built small numbers of reconnaissance and specialist variants, and many surviving airframes moved from interception to high-altitude reconnaissance, carrying camera pods instead of missiles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/l8NbEVgq_eU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">AP Archive stills of the damaged US Navy EP-3E on the tarmac on Hainan Island after the April 2001 collision with a J-8II.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>By 2026, reports described the PLA as rapidly withdrawing its remaining J-8s. The Finback never fought a war, and it never matched the jets it was meant to catch. What it did was harder to measure: it taught a Chinese industry, largely cut off from foreign help, how to design, fix and keep upgrading a supersonic combat aircraft of its own, experience that carried into the J-10 and J-11 generation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: The War Zone (TWZ), Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine, Naval History and Heritage Command, Military Watch Magazine, U.S. Department of Defense<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<p class=\"mf-photo-credits\" data-no-translation style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin:6px 0 18px\">Header photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:%E6%B5%B7%E5%86%9B%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A6%86%E2%80%94%E2%80%94%E6%AD%BC-8DF%E5%9E%8B%E9%A3%9E%E6%9C%BA.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sprt98 \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is the Shenyang J-8 Finback?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Shenyang J-8, NATO name Finback, is a Chinese twin-engine supersonic interceptor. It began in 1964 as a scaled-up, two-engine version of the J-7, China&rsquo;s copy of the MiG-21, first flew in 1969 and entered service in 1980. The heavily redesigned J-8II followed in the 1980s.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is the difference between the J-8 and the J-8II?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The original J-8 used a MiG-21 style nose intake with a small radar rangefinder in the shock cone. The J-8II, or J-8B, replaced it with a pointed radome for a pulse-Doppler radar and side air intakes, more powerful WP-13 engines and a single folding ventral fin. About 70 percent of the airframe was reworked.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What was Peace Pearl?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Peace Pearl was a US Air Force programme under which Grumman was contracted in August 1987 to upgrade 50 to 55 Chinese J-8II fighters with American avionics, including the AN\/APG-66 radar from early F-16s. Two jets went to the United States in 1989, but the programme was cancelled in 1990 after the Tiananmen Square crackdown.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which aircraft collided with the EP-3 near Hainan in 2001?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On 1 April 2001 a Chinese naval J-8II flown by Lieutenant Commander Wang Wei collided with a US Navy EP-3E Aries II about 70 miles southeast of Hainan Island. Wang was killed. The EP-3 made an emergency landing at Lingshui, and its 24 crew were released on 11 April.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is the J-8 Finback still in service?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Only in dwindling numbers. By 2026 reports described the Chinese air force as rapidly withdrawing its remaining J-8s, with many late airframes already switched from interception to high-altitude reconnaissance carrying camera pods. Newer J-10, J-11 and J-16 fighters have taken over its air defence role.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Can I fly in a MiG-21?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. MiGFlug offers flights in a two-seat MiG-21 trainer based in Florida, the jet whose design the J-8 grew out of. You sit directly behind the pilot, break the sound barrier, fly aerobatics and get stick time. Details are on the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/mig-21-launch\/\">MiG-21 supersonic flight<\/a> page.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the Shenyang J-8 Finback?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Shenyang J-8, NATO name Finback, is a Chinese twin-engine supersonic interceptor. It began in 1964 as a scaled-up, two-engine version of the J-7, China\u2019s copy of the MiG-21, first flew in 1969 and entered service in 1980. The heavily redesigned J-8II followed in the 1980s.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the difference between the J-8 and the J-8II?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The original J-8 used a MiG-21 style nose intake with a small radar rangefinder in the shock cone. The J-8II, or J-8B, replaced it with a pointed radome for a pulse-Doppler radar and side air intakes, more powerful WP-13 engines and a single folding ventral fin. About 70 percent of the airframe was reworked.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was Peace Pearl?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Peace Pearl was a US Air Force programme under which Grumman was contracted in August 1987 to upgrade 50 to 55 Chinese J-8II fighters with American avionics, including the AN\/APG-66 radar from early F-16s. Two jets went to the United States in 1989, but the programme was cancelled in 1990 after the Tiananmen Square crackdown.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Which aircraft collided with the EP-3 near Hainan in 2001?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"On 1 April 2001 a Chinese naval J-8II flown by Lieutenant Commander Wang Wei collided with a US Navy EP-3E Aries II about 70 miles southeast of Hainan Island. Wang was killed. The EP-3 made an emergency landing at Lingshui, and its 24 crew were released on 11 April.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is the J-8 Finback still in service?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Only in dwindling numbers. By 2026 reports described the Chinese air force as rapidly withdrawing its remaining J-8s, with many late airframes already switched from interception to high-altitude reconnaissance carrying camera pods. Newer J-10, J-11 and J-16 fighters have taken over its air defence role.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Can I fly in a MiG-21?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. MiGFlug offers flights in a two-seat MiG-21 trainer based in Florida, the jet whose design the J-8 grew out of. You sit directly behind the pilot, break the sound barrier, fly aerobatics and get stick time. Details are on the MiG-21 supersonic flight page.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/ep-3-hainan-island-incident-2001\/\">The Collision That Nearly Sparked a War<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/hainan-2001-ep-3-collision-deliberate-wang-wei-question\/\">Did China Crash a US Spy Plane on Purpose?<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/nanchang-j-12-lightest-supersonic-fighter-china\/\">Nanchang J-12: Mao's Pocket Fighter for Guerrilla Air War<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/shenyang-j-6-farmer-china-mig-19-f-6-pakistan-vietnam-drones\/\">Shenyang J-6: China\u2019s MiG-19 Copy, From Vietnam to Drones<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<!--mfcred1-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Shenyang J-8 Finback began as a scaled-up, twin-engine MiG-21 in 1964, was reborn as the J-8II, nearly got US avionics, and met an EP-3 off Hainan in 2001.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":32592601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32592764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Shenyang J-8 Finback: China&#039;s Cold War Interceptor | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Shenyang J-8 Finback: China&#039;s twin-engine MiG-21 offspring, the J-8II 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