Pilots assigned to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Western Theater Command sit in the cockpit of their JH-7 fighter bomber before takeoff for a sortie near the Tianshan Mountains in late March, 2018. Photos: eng.chinamil.com.cn/Wang Xiaofei 

A JH-7 fighter bomber attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Western Theater Command takes off for a sortie near the Tianshan Mountains in late March, 2018. 

Two JH-7 fighter bombers attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Western Theater Command taxi abreast on the runway before takeoff for a sortie near the Tianshan Mountains in late March, 2018.   

A ground crew assigned to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Western Theater Command signals a JH-7 fighter bomber to the parking apron after landing at a military airfield at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains in late March, 2018.