Strictly speaking, the Empire Air Force does not lack heavy attack aircraft, and the demand for them is not very urgent.
Not to mention, the "Attack-8" series can still fly for another 10 years without any issues. By the time ten years have passed, there will probably be hundreds of "Attack-11As". Even though the "Attack-11A" can only be considered a light attack aircraft and is too troublesome to maintain, making it difficult for widespread deployment, the Navy's "Attack-12A" can also be anticipated. Even if the Navy is unreliable, there's the "War-11C", developed to multi-purpose fighter standards, as a backup.
In comparison, after all the "Hong-7" are retired, there will already be a "gap" in tactical bombers.
Therefore, the real shortage is actually in tactical bombers.
Unfortunately, no matter how many reasons the Air Force presents, the two chambers of the legislature are unwilling to allocate funding for new tactical bombers, believing they no longer hold value.
