The Shenyang J-6 'Farmer' was the Chinese-built copy of the MiG-19 fighter, built during a span of around three decades and with production exceeding even that of the Soviet original. It was China's principal fighter for much of the second half of the Cold War with a service life which will surely break the half-century mark since many are still operational in various air forces around the world. The J-6 was a simple aircraft, poorly built at first but gradually increasing in quality to the point that it was a decent match for most aircraft of its generation (J-6s have shot down MiG-21s, F-104s and Hawker Hunters in combat). Although it has since been replaced by more advanced types in Chinese service, the J-6 has been exported to a number of other countries including Albania, Bangladesh, Egypt, North Korea, Tanzania, Zambia and Pakistan which used them to good effect in their 1965 war with India.

China had received a number of scaled-down Soviet MiG-19s before producing the J-6 (directly based on the MiG-19S) which first flew on 30 September 1959. The Sino-Soviet split prompted the Chinese to improve the J-6 on their own and the result was the J-6A and J-6B which were based on the MiG-19P and had local air-intercept radars. A multi-role variant was later developed as the J-6C albeit without all-weather capabilities and ultimately, the J-6Xin with a sting radome on the inner splitter plate. Non combat versions included the JJ-6 two-seat trainer and the JZ-6 for reconnaissance which was also the last to be used by the PLAAF. The J-6 is to be phased out of service in 2007 at the latest although export versions known as the F-6 continue to serve throughout the world.