Rockets were definitely a good thing.
Before the introduction of rockets, whether it was the "Xiaotian," the "Vermilion Bird," or the "Thunderbolt," when carrying out air-to-ground strike missions, there was always a bit of regret.
In the words of the pilots, it was that there were not enough bombs to hang!
Often, it was only when an important target appeared that they realized the bombs were gone.
Moreover, large-caliber machine guns could only deal with a limited range of targets and could not completely replace bombs.
Before rockets were equipped, some pilots suggested replacing the air machine guns inside the "Xiaotian" wings with 20 millimeter machine guns to enhance ground strike firepower.
Although there was no technical difficulty, it was not done due to logistics support considerations.
Furthermore, 20 millimeter machine guns were essentially worthless in aerial combat.
