With the arrival of the New Year, some old-fashioned equipment often appears in the propaganda videos of our army, such as the J-7 fighter of the Air Force, the Type 59 tank of the Army, the Type 052 destroyer of the Navy, and so on.
Although these equipment have lagged behind the requirements of modern warfare, they still play an important role in the troops.
On the one hand, they demonstrate the high level of training and combat readiness of the troops, capable of fulfilling various tasks even if the equipment is not advanced.
On the other hand, they also reflect the process of upgrading the equipment of the troops, which are rarely used in normal exercises and patrols, and only appear on special occasions, indicating that they are close to the time of retirement.
So, which of these old-fashioned pieces of equipment will be the first to be retired from active service?
The J-7 fighter may be the fastest to be decommissioned.
The J-7 fighter is one of the classic fighters of our Air Force, it has the nickname of "Seven Masters", and was once the main fighter of our Air Force.
However, with the passage of time and the development of technology, the J-7 fighter has not been able to adapt to the needs of modern air combat, and its performance and capabilities have greatly lagged behind the world level.
Although we have made several improvements to the J-7 fighter to enable it to launch third-generation air-to-air missiles, this does not change its essence, it is still an obsolete fighter.
At present, we still retain a certain number of J-7 fighters, mainly because the production rate of new fighters cannot meet our needs, and we need to use J-7 fighters to maintain the establishment of troops.
However, this situation will not last long, and our new fighter jets are rapidly being deployed in the army, and it is expected that in the next few years, we will complete the complete replacement of J-7 fighters.
The J-7 fighter does not have some unique advantages like the J-8 fighter, which makes it necessary for us to keep it for the time being, so once the new fighter is in place, the J-7 fighter will be retired from active service.
Taking into account the pressure on the air defense that our country has faced in recent years, the renewal of the equipment of the Air Force is very urgent, and the current production of three new fighters in the Air Force may exceed 200 units per year.
In this case, the retirement of the J-7 fighter is only a matter of time.
We can foresee that even if the replacement of the J-7 fighter is not completed this year, this goal will be achieved next year or the year after.
By 2027 at the latest, we will say goodbye to this generation of legendary fighters.
Therefore, among these old-fashioned equipment, the J-7 fighter is likely to be the first to be retired from active service.
Why is the Type 59 tank still around?
Next, let's take a look at the Army's Type 59 tank.
According to the information we have now, there are still many units in our army that use Type 59 tanks, and they are the original Type 59 tanks that have not been modernized.
These Type 59 tanks have completely failed to meet the modern combat needs of our army, and the Type 59 tanks have lagged behind the times in terms of traditional aspects such as firepower, protection, and mobility, as well as in the new era of informatization and intelligence.
In fact, now the Type 59 tank in our army, its role is only to maintain the active strength of the troops, waiting for the replacement of new types of equipment.
This is also why in some medium composite brigades that are supposed to be equipped with wheeled armored vehicles, there are also Type 59 tanks, because these Type 59 tanks are only to fill the gap in the equipment establishment.
The main reason for this phenomenon is that the size of our army is too large. Even though our weapons industry has produced tens of thousands of armored vehicles in the past decade or so, it has not yet fully upgraded the equipment of our army.
To solve this problem, only by increasing production capacity, as well as the accumulation of waiting time, can it be solved. Equipment upgrading is not an overnight thing, what is needed is continuous efforts.
However, the army is also selective in updating its equipment, and units with greater combat readiness pressure and more urgent need for rearmament will be given priority to obtain new equipment. At present, the troops that still retain Type 59 tanks have relatively low combat readiness pressure and low priority for reloading.
Moreover, judging from the current overall situation, the army's need for refitting is not as urgent as that of the navy and air force, so in the short term, the army must follow the principle of "enough is enough."
Therefore, it will take a long time for the Type 59 tank to withdraw from the active service of our army.
Among these old equipment, the Type 59 tank is not necessarily the last equipment to be retired from active service, but it is likely not the first to be retired from active service, and our old 59 will continue to contribute to the construction of our army.
What is the current state of the Type 052 destroyer?
Finally, let's take a look at the Navy's Type 052 destroyer.
For the current new generation of military fans, the Type 052 destroyer may be a little unfamiliar, but for our older generation of military fans, this destroyer, known as the "first ship in China", is a very familiar friend.
The Type 052 destroyer is the first destroyer in Chinese history to be equipped with an automated command system, and it is also China's first type and second-generation destroyer.
Only 2 destroyers of this type were built. They are the "Harbin" ship with the board number 112 and the ship "Qingdao" with the board number 113.
At the time of their service, they were the most advanced destroyers of the Chinese Navy. And now, 30 years later, they are the 2 most backward destroyers of the Chinese Navy.
It can be said that these 2 Type 052 destroyers have witnessed the rise of the Chinese Navy.
After 2010, we carried out a number of modernization upgrades to these 2 destroyers, updating some electronic systems and ** systems.
However, due to the limitations of the original design, this upgrade did not bring much of a combat power boost.
Now the age of these 2 destroyers is close to 30 years, and the hull life is running out. So, there's no need to upgrade them any more.
What we are thinking about now is how to make these 2 destroyers play a greater role during their final service. Judging from the current usage, these two destroyers mainly undertake the task of training seafarers.
Many young naval fighters learned the professional knowledge of the Navy from these two old destroyers, and then assigned to different new destroyers to become a new force in the Navy.
In the coming years, these two destroyers will also continue to train talent for the Navy until their hull life is exhausted. At that time, they will be honorably retired from active naval service, ending their historic mission.
So, among these old-fashioned equipment, the Type 052 destroyer may be the last to be retired from active service.