30 minutes ago, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense announced that 22 land based aircraft of the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force violated the Air Defense Identification Zone, prom-prompting Taiwanese air defenses to activate and combat air patrol (CAP) interceptors being scrambled.

Two days ago we reported that 29 PLAAF aircraft violated the ADIZ, the largest incursion since May 30th. This 22 aircraft flight, so close to Tuesday’s 29 aircraft incursion signals a renewed aggression against the Republic of China. These violations allow Chinese planners to test Taiwanese readiness and create a pattern of life on Taiwanese interceptors and radars. It also whittles down the readiness of Taiwanese aircraft. However, this launch had an interesting aircraft composition: 5x JH-7s. The past several months saw the H-6 bombers escorted by the J-16 and Su-30, but the presence of the JH-7 is notable. The Xi’an JH-7  (NATO reporting name Flounder), also known as the FBC-1 (Fighter/Bomber China-1) Flying Leopard, is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber in service with the People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF), and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). A flight of JH-7s would most likely take a more involved role in an initial strike on Taiwan due to its maneuverability and survivability as opposed to the H-6.

General characteristics (wiki)

• Crew: 2
• Length: 22.32 m (73 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
• Height: 6.22 m (20 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 42.2 m² (454 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 14,500 kg (31,967 lb) 
• Max takeoff weight: 28,475 kg (62,777 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Xian WS-9 Qinling turbofan engines, 54.29 kN (12,200 lbf) thrust each dry, 91.26 kN (20,520 lbf) with afterburner

Performance

• Maximum speed: 1,808 km/h (1,123 mph, 976 kn)
• Maximum speed: Mach 1.52
• Combat range: 1,760 km (1,090 mi, 950 nmi) with one in-flight refueling (estimated)

900 km (560 mi; 490 nmi) without refueling (estimated)

• Service ceiling: 16,000 m (52,000 ft)

Armament

• Guns: 1× 23mm twin-barrel GSh-23L autocannon, 300 rounds
• Hardpoints: 9 in total (6× under-wing, 2× wing-tip, 1× under-fuselage) with a capacity of 9,000 kg (20,000 lb) external fuel and ordnance
• Rockets: 57mm/90mm unguided rocket pods
• Missiles:
  • Air-to-air missiles:
    • PL-5
    • PL-8
    • PL-9
    • PL-12
  • Anti-ship missiles:
    • Yingji-8K
    • Yingji-82K
  • Air-to-surface missiles:
    • CM-802A
    • KD-88
    • C-705
    • C-704
  • Anti-radiation missiles:
    • Yingji-91
    • LD-10
    • CM-102
• Bombs:
  • Unguided bombs
  • Laser-guided bombs
    • GB1
    • GB5
    • GB100
  • Satellite-guided bombs
    • LS-6
    • FT-12
    • GB6
    • FT-2
    • FT-3
    • FT-6
• Avionics:
  JL-10A radar