Chengdu J-9

The Chengdu J-9 was a Chinese interceptor fighter that was cancelled in 1980 without ever reaching production. It was proposed in 1964 by the 601 Institute in Shenyang as a higher-performing alternative to the Shenyang J-8, and the work passed to the National 132nd Factory and the 611 Institute in Chengdu once Shenyang became fully occupied with the J-8. Its final design, the J-9B-VI, was a single-engine canard-delta with lateral intakes, meant to reach about Mach 2.5 and carry four PL-4 air-to-air missiles. The Cultural Revolution, shifting requirements and the lack of a suitable engine, a Woshan WS-6 turbofan that ran into development problems, held it back until the program ended. The aerodynamic research is credited with paving the way for the later J-10 and J-20.