A clash of generations: the key question in advanced jet trainers is whether new designs should now take over, thereby providing a quantum leap in angle-of-attack, specific excess power and possibly Mach number.

One basic jet trainer with a large potential domestic market is the Hongdu/Pac JL-8 or (export designation) K-8, which was jointly developed by China and Pakistan and first flew in 1990. Pakistan may eventually acquire up to 100 K-8s.

China’s Avic-II group is believed to have sold at least 226 K-8s to more than ten air forces.

China’s Mach 1.6 Guizhou/Avic-I JL-9 (alternative appellation) FFC-2000 is a derivative of the MiG-21UTI. It first flew in December 2003 and manufacture of a pre-series batch reportedly began in May 2007.

It is competing with the more modern Hongdu/Avic-II JL-15, which was designed with assistance from Russian company Yakovlev and resembles the Russian Yak-130. The JL-15 first flew in March 2006.