June 9, 2010: China has decided not to buy the high-performance JL-15 jet trainer it has been developing (with help from Russian and Ukrainian firms) for nearly a decade. At least not yet. The 9.5 ton, twin engine JL-15 can achieve supersonic speeds, and has the kind of high-tech cockpit found in modern fighters. The JL-15 was designed to be produced in two versions; advanced trainer, and initial fighter trainer. This would smooth the transition to high end aircraft like the J-10 (similar to the F-16) and J-11 (an Su-27 clone).

2010年6月9日：中国决定不购买它已经发展将近十年之久（从俄国和乌克兰公司得到帮助）的高性能JL-15喷气教练机，至少目前没有。9.5吨双发动机的JL-15能达到超音速，并且具有在现代化战斗机上看到的高科技座舱。JL-15 被设计生产二种版本；先进教练机和入门战斗教练机。这将会使飞行员平稳过渡到像J-10（类似F-16）和J-11（一个Su-27副本）高端战斗机。

Instead of the JL-15, the air force and navy are buying JL-9s. This is an upgraded version of the JJ-7 trainer, which was based on the J-7 (a Chinese copy of the Russian MiG-21). The JL-9 has side air intakes, and a radar dome up front. It doesn't look a lot like a MiG-21, and is somewhat easier to fly. While the JL-15 is a few years away from production, the JL-9 just entered production and is several million dollars cheaper than the twin-engine JL-15. Apparently, the Chinese believe that it's better, and cheaper, for new J-10 and J-11 pilots to learn in these aircraft, rather than spending more time in the pricey, but similar in performance, JL-15s.

取代JL-15，空军和海军正在购买JL-9。这是JJ-7教练机的一个升级版本，JJ-7基于J-7（俄国米格-21的中国副本）。JL-9采用侧进气道和前雷达罩。它看起来不是非常像米格-21，而且比较容易飞行。当JL-15在近几年离生产还很远的时候，JL-9刚刚进入了生产并且几百万元的成本比双发动机JL-15便宜。显然地，中国人相信它是比较好和比较廉宜的，用于新的J-10和J-11飞行员在这些飞机中学习，不愿花费更多的时间在昂贵但是性能类似的JL-15上。