Chengdu J-10

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J-10 Vigorous Dragon F-10 Vanguard
A front view of the J-10B twin-seater
Type	Multirole fighter
Manufacturer	Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation
Designed by	Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute
Maiden flight	23 March 1998[1]
Introduced	2005
Status	Operational
Primary users	People's Liberation Army Air Force Pakistan Air Force
Produced	2003-present
Number built	80-100 (as of January 2008)[2]
Program cost	¥500 million RMB allocated in 1982[1] (Project #10)
Unit cost	$28 million USD (2008 exchange rate) $41 million USD (export version, with parts and maintenance)
Developed from	Chengdu J-9

The Chengdu J-10 (traditional Chinese: 殲十; simplified Chinese: 歼十; pinyin: Jiān Shí, meaning "Annihilator (Fighter) Ten") is a multirole fighter aircraft designed and produced by the People's Republic of China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC) with considerable foreign technological input for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Known in the West as the "Vigorous Dragon",^[3] the J-10 is designed to be equally useful in both the fighter and light bomber roles and is optimized for all-weather day/night operation.

The J-10 next-generation fighter program remained a top-secret classified project until December 29th 2006, when the Xinhua News Agency officially disclosed its active duty status with the PLAAF.

Contents 1 Development 1.1 Export customers 1.2 Israeli and Russian participation 2 Design details 2.1 Engine 2.1.1 Thrust vectoring 2.2 Airframe, aerodynamics and flight control 2.3 Avionics 2.3.1 Radar 2.3.2 Head-up display (HUD) 2.3.3 Electro-optical systems 2.3.4 Electronic countermeasures 2.4 Weapons and external loads 3 Variants 4 Specifications (estimated) 5 See also 6 Notes and references 7 External links

[edit] Development

The program was originally backed by the Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, who authorized half a billion Renminbi to develop an indigenous aircraft, but the official program did not start until several years later in January 1986 when the Chinese government officially issued Project #10,^[1] to develop a fighter to counter new fourth generation fighters then being introduced by the USSR (namely, the MiG-29 and Su-27). The 611th Institute, also known as Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute was tasked as the main developer, with Mr. Song Wencong, the chief designer of J-7III assigned as the chief designer, and Mr. Xue Chishou (薛炽寿) as the chief engineer. Initially designed as a specialized fighter, it was later remade into a multirole aircraft capable of both air to air combat and ground attack missions. However, a Chinese magazine (zh:少年科学画报, ISSN1000-7776) published in June 1979 showed a boy holding a model of J-10.^[4] The picture showed that the project began long before 1979.

Although the existence of J-10 has long been reported both inside and outside of China, the Chinese government did not officially admit so until January 2007, when the first photographs of the J-10 were allowed to be published to the public by the Xinhua News Agency. Having been designed under such secrecy, before its official disclosure, many details of the J-10 were subject to much speculation. One rumored version of the J-10 development history is: the first flight of the J-10 took place sometime in 1996, then the program suffered a major delay due to a fatal accident which occurred in 1997, and then a redesigned prototype flew in 1998, resuming flight testing of the aircraft.^{[citation needed]} (There is evidence, albeit inconclusive, that only one prototype was flying; the other was a ground static testbed. Hence, no crash occurred.)^{[citation needed]}

However, the rumored crash has been openly denied by the government of China after the official governmental acknowledgment of the existence of the J-10: on 2007-01-15, both the Xinhua News Agency and the PLA Daily have claimed/reported the accomplishments of one of the test pilots of the J-10, Mr. Li Zhonghua (李中华), and, in these reports, one of the accomplishments quoted was that there was not a single crash since the project began. According to Chinese media reports, the first plane, "J-10 01", rolled out in November 1997, and the first flight of "J-10 01" was on 1998-03-23.^[1] No incident has been reported.^[5] After 18 years in development, the J-10 finally entered service in 2004.^[1][6]

The aircraft made its successful maiden flight on March 23, 1998, flown by test pilot Mr. Lei Qiang (雷強), lasting twenty minutes. Another test pilot Mr. Li Zhonghua (李中华) test flew the prototype for its aerodynamic performance that lasted till early December, 2003, during which aerial refueling tests were also successfully completed. In these aerodynamic tests, the aircraft was pushed beyond its parameters of the original design and it was discovered that the aircraft could easily withstand the greater requirements. The last part of the test flight was the live round air-to-air missiles test firing, which lasted from December 21, 2003 to December 25, 2003, which was completed by test pilot Mr. Xu Yongling (徐勇凌). The aircraft were first delivered to the 13th Test Regiment on 2003-02-23. The aircraft was given the status 'operational' in December of the same year. The first operational regiment was the 131th Regiment of the 44th Division. It is rumored that a regiment of the 3rd Division has also J-10s.

[edit] Export customers

The most frequently mentioned potential J-10 export customer is the Pakistan Air Force (PAF); in April 2006, the media reported that the Pakistani government intends to procure at least 36 J-10s (designated FC-20 or FC-10, depending on the report). The Business Recorder claims that the Pakistani official document it obtained said the Cabinet "has allowed PAF to set up Joint Working Group (JWG) with CATIC for procurement of 36 FC-20 aircraft". Other media reports cited Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid (at that time) saying that the Cabinet has approved the purchase of J-10s from China, in addition to JF-17s.^[7][8] On [[2007-03-31, Pakistan Air Force Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed said, "PAF would soon induct fourth and fifth generation high-tech fleet of fighter-bomber aircraft with the aim to modernize the country's air force which includes the induction of 2 squadrons of Chengdu J-10 aircraft."^[9] The J-10 export deal is estimated to cost a total of $1.5 billion USD, with a flyaway price of $41 million USD for each J-10 fighter with maintenance and parts inclusive.^{[citation needed]}

It was reported by Jane's Defence Weekly on 2006-01-09 that a more advanced version of the J-10 is planned, referred to as the Super-10, with a more powerful engine, thrust-vector control, stronger airframe and passive phased-array radar.^[10]

[edit] Israeli and Russian participation

There have been conflicting reports about the relationship Chengdu may have had with the Israeli IAI Lavi fighter program. ^[6] In formal (official) Chinese sources, the J-10 is said to have been developed from the now canceled Chengdu J-9, which shared with both J-10 and the Lavi a canard-configuration. The J-9 program predated both of the other aircraft^[11] - a fact that arguably counters the Lavi-related speculation. In an interview, the general designer of J-10, Mr. Song Wencong (宋文骢) said, "Our nation's new fighter's external design and aerodynamics configuration are completely made by us and did not receive foreign assistance, this made me very proud. Our nation developed J-9 in the 1960s, this adopted the canard configuration. So, those statements that said J-10 is a copy of Israeli Lavi are just laughable."^[12]

A simple comparison of known IAI Lavi prototype photographs and J-10 photographs (now officially released) shows some common features between the two aircraft, but also common with fighter aircraft of other countries.^[13][14]. However, the delta canard layout also appeared on many other aircraft, including the Eurofighter Typhoon and the French Rafale. Additionally, the delta-canard planform combined with a ventral intake has also been used on a Soviet-designed high-technology prototype known as the MiG 1.44. The Soviets started the MiG-1.44 project as far back as 1986, before the Lavi program was canceled. While Lavi and J-10 share some features, there are notable differences. The ventral intake of the J-10, MiG-1.44 and Eurofighter are rectangular and feature variable geometry ramping for high-speed flight. The intakes on both the Lavi and F-16 are round and fixed, and neither aircraft was developed with an eye towards reduced radar cross-section.

The strongest admission of Israeli complicity in the J-10's development by Israeli authorities appeared in a statement made by an official as American authorities investigated alleged Lavi technology transfers to China. The Director General of Israel's Ministry of Defense David Lari "acknowledged in an Associated Press interview that 'some technology on aircraft' had been sold to China and that some Israeli companies may not have 'clean hands'".^[15]. The context of the article strongly substantiates military technology being transfered between Israeli and the Chinese defense institutions, but lack specific mention of the Lavi being part of it. However, the volume of Israeli arms and technology sales to China suggests a considerable range of ventures were undertaken.

In May 2008, Jane's Information Group affirmed that credible Russian sources involved directly with Chengdu have confirmed direct Israeli and Russian input, including access to the IAI Lavi aircraft itself as well as high-level Chinese reports of possession of at least one Lavi prototype at one of Chengdu's facilities. They also affirm that in 2000, J-10 aerodynamic models were sent to Russian wind tunnel testing facilities to study the J-10's aerodynamics. The scope of involvement is reported to include extensive design and performance modeling, wind-tunnel testing and advanced aerodynamic design input.^[16]

Furthermore, Kommersant's reporter Kostantin Lantratov affirmed that Russian consent was required to export the J-10 since China is contractually bound to seek Russian approval for exporting the AL-31 engine.

Also during the 2006 Farnborough Air Show, the Russian Siberian Aeronautical Research Institute SibNIA confirmed its participation in the J-10 program and the Israeli involvement in the J-10, they also stated that the J-10 was based on the canceled Israeli IAI Lavi.^[17]

More controversial report^[18], some publication stated Pakistan is believed to have provided one F-16 airplane to China for examination in regards to J-10 figher development.

[edit] Design details

[edit] Engine

The J-10 is powered by a single, Russian-built Lyulka-Saturn AL-31FN turbofan engine (maximum static power output of 12,500 kgf (123 kN, 27,600 lbf)) or a Chinese-built Woshan WS-10A "Taihang" turbofan (13,200 kgf (129 kN, 29,101 lbf)). However, after the government's official acknowledgment of the existence of the J-10, an interview with J-10 pilots (such as test pilot Li Cunbao (李存宝)) revealed that a domestic engine is highly unlikely to equip the J-10 in the near future.^{[citation needed]} In this interview, publicized in January 2007, the pilots claimed that though the domestic Chinese engine could match the performance of the Russian design in every aspect, there was a very serious drawback - the domestic Chinese engine took much longer to reach the same level of performance as its Russian counterpart (according to Mr. Li Cunbao, as well as other pilots who flew the J-10 fitted with the WS-10, it took at least 50% longer, and in several other aspects, almost 100% longer.)^{[citation needed]} Although this would only translate to a ~1 minute difference at most, it was enough to affect the pilot's ability to safely recover the aircraft by restarting the engine rather than abandoning the aircraft in a forced ejection. Another significant drawback of the domestic Chinese engine is the lack of a FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) feature. This has been addressed, however, the current FADEC-equipped WS-10 is not reliable enough to be considered for service.

As a result of difficulties faced with the development of the WS-10, all initial J-10s are powered by the Russian AL-31FN turbofan; 180 AL-31FN engines ordered in two separate batches by China have been delivered by the mid-2000s. Out of the 180 engines ordered, 100 were built by the Moscow-based MMPP Salyut plant, and the remaining 80 by Ufa-based UMPO facility, with the price of the first batch being $300 million, while the price of the second batch was undisclosed. Contrary to many erroneous claims, the AL-31FN is not a thrust vectoring engine, but instead, a derivative of the AL-31F engine used by Su-27 aircraft. The most significant difference between the AL-31FN and other models is the arrangement of certain parts and mechanisms due to spacial limitations of the engine bay in the J-10. Protruding parts of the engine such as the pump are mounted opposite to that of AL-31F.

[edit] Thrust vectoring

During the Paris Airshow in 2001, a prototype of a development of AL-31FN with thrust vectoring developed to meet Chinese specifications was revealed to the public by Russian engine developer Salyut, with a fully-variable swivel nozzle design from the Klimov Design Bureau in St. Petersburg, with research and development costs at least partially sponsored by China. The Russians stopped short of identifying which version of the J-10 the thrust vectoring engine would be used on. It was revealed that the factory designation of this thrust vectoring engine is AL-31FN M1, but sources outside China disagree on its application: some claim that it would be used in a new advanced version of the J-10 called the Super-10, while others claim it would be used on J-10 itself in future upgrades. Speculation persisted until the end of 2005, when China finally placed an order for 54 AL-31FN M1 engines at $300 million, but no follow-on orders have been placed since then. Various domestic Chinese sources have claimed that the reason for not purchasing anymore AL-31FN M1 engines is that the Mean Time Between Overhaul (MTBO) of the thrust vectoring engine is too short: according to the Russian manufacturer Salyut's claim, thrust vectoring engines of the AL-31F series only have an MTBO of 250 hours compared to more than 1,000 hours of MTBO for the original AL-31F, but Chinese sources claim that in reality, the number is as low as 50 hours MBTO for the thrust vectoring model, the same problem India is rumored to have encountered with its recently-acquired Su-30MKI fighter, but such claims have yet to be confirmed by sources outside of China.

Adding to the confusion, the Chinese government has released the official photo of the domestic thrust vectoring engine undergoing testing around the same time, but did not provide any other information besides identifying the asymmetric nozzles of the thrust vectoring engine in the tests. Some sources outside China have claimed this domestic thrust vectoring engine might be for the Shenyang J-11. Regardless of how they will eventually be used, thrust vectoring will undoubtedly increase the J-10's agility. However, if Chinese criticism of thrust vectoring engines proves to be true, then it is highly unlikely that any thrust vectoring technology could be incorporated into J-10 anytime soon, and the lack of any follow-on orders for AL-31F M1 seems to support this view.

[edit] Airframe, aerodynamics and flight control

The airframe possesses a large vertical tail, as well as canards placed near the cockpit. The air intake is rectangular in shape, and is located beneath the fuselage. Construction likely incorporates much use of composite materials, as well as more conventional metals. Performance is generally speculated to be within the class of a (Block 40) F-16 Fighting Falcon. In simulated dogfights, the J-10 has defeated the J-11. A bubble canopy provides 360 degrees of visual coverage for the pilot. The aircraft is designed by the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute, a subordinate research institute of Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation, but in a rather unusual agreement, the single seat version of the J-10 and the twin seater version of J-10 were designed by two different general designers: the general designer for the single seater version of the J-10 was Mr. Song Wencong, while the twin seater version of the J-10 was designed by a younger person, the general designer of the JF-17 Thunder Mr. Yang Wei (杨伟). However, Mr. Yang is the chief designer of the fully digitized fly-by-wire control systems for both versions of the fighter. This is disputed by analyst Richard Fisher ^[19] who credits Israeli consultants for developing the system.^[20] For both single seater and twin seater versions, the chief engineer was Mr. Xue Chishou (薛炽寿), who was also the deputy general manager of Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation, and the chief test engineer was Mr. Zhou Ziquan (周自全), who was also the deputy director of Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute. Mr. Sang Jianhua (桑建华) of Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute was responsible for the stealth feature designs. China has only three internationally-recognized test pilots who are certified to perform test flights worldwide, and all of them were recruited for the J-10 program: they were Mr. Lei Qiang (雷強), Mr. Li Cunbao (李存宝) and Mr. Li Zhonghua (李中华). Other test pilots who contributed greatly in trials of the J-10 included Mr. Xu Yongling (徐勇凌) and Mr. Zou Jianguo (邹建国).

[edit] Avionics

A digital, quadruplex fly-by-wire system aids the pilot in flying the aircraft. Information is provided visually to the pilot, in the form of three Liquid Crystal Multi-Functional Displays (LCD MFDs) within the cockpit. Western-style HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick) controls are incorporated in the J-10's design. A Chinese Helmet-Mounted Sight (HMS) is also standard equipment.

[edit] Radar

The radar type equipping the J-10 is not yet finalized, with a variety of possible candidates, some of which have been installed on the J-10 airframe. With the exception of the RP-35, most of the J-10 radars that have been publicized are slotted planar array radars:

• Israeli Elta EL/M-2035: The first radar onboard J-10 prototypes for testing purposes. The radar weight is 138 kg (304 lb) and Chinese Internet sources claimed it is reportedly designated as JL-9, and the radar was mainly used to provide technological know-how for radar/avionics integration for more advanced radars. Such Chinese claims have yet to be confirmed by outside sources.

• Chinese/Pakistani JL-10A: Chinese sources have claimed that JL-10A radar on JH-7 has been reportedly installed on the pre-production unit as a stop-gap measure as more advanced radars becoming available. Again, such claims have yet to be confirmed by outside sources.

• Russian Phazotron Zhemchoug (Pearl): 20 units ordered in the mid-1990s, all of which have been delivered. This radar is a derivative of Zhuk (Beetle) radar on the Su-27 Flanker with newer electronics which reduced the weight by more than a third to 180 kg from the original Zhuk (Beetle) radar. Chinese sources claim that these radars have been installed on the low-rate initial production version of J-10. The Zhemchoug radar can simultaneously track 20 targets and engage 4 of the 20 tracked via semi-active radar homing air-to-air missiles. However, the radar lacks the same level of air-to-ground capability of its Western counterparts. In addition, despite the impressive number of targets it can simultaneously track, the 80/60 km tracking / engagement range is simply considered by Chinese as too short. As a result, no more follow-on orders were placed by the Chinese, and China had already been seeking other alternatives for later production units of the J-10.

• Chinese Type 1471 (KLJ-1) radar: Many Chinese sources have claimed (to be confirmed) that this radar is the most numerous fire control radar fielded on the J-10. The Type 1471 is reported to be able to track and engage the same number of targets like the Russian Zhemchoug (Pearl), but with much more improved air-to-ground capability similar to those of Western origin. However, there are other Chinese sources claiming that the maximum number of targets the Type 1471 can track is less than 20, but instead, only 15, the same as that of the JL-10A.

• Italian FIAR Grifo 2000/16: An Italian radar offered to Pakistan should Pakistan decide to order the J-10. This radar can simultaneously engage 8 targets, and like the JL-10A, it can simultaneously engage 2 targets out of the total targets tracked with semi-active radar homing air-to-air missiles. The radar is fully-compatible and interchangeable with AN/APG-66 at LRU level. The radar has a slotted planar array with a diameter up to 800 mm, and the range of the radar is at least 100⁺ km. The ISO-9002 certified avionics, electronics and radar production facility of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra already has considerable experience in licensed assembly/production of other Italian FIAR radars, namely, the Grifo-7, Grifo-Mk-II, and Grifo-MG fire control radars for Pakistani F-7MP/P/PGs, and the Grifo-2000/16 would have great advantage over its competitors when license assembly/production is included.

• Russian Phazotron (NIIR) RP-35: This passive phased array radar is designed as a successor to the earlier Zhemchoug (Pearl) radar, with full air-to-air and air-to-surface capability. Although Western sources reported that Russia is actively marketing this radar to China, neither countries have disclosed any hints on the progress of the deal. Some domestic Chinese Internet sources have claimed that the radar is intended for Su-27/J-11 upgrades instead, but such claim has yet to be confirmed.

• Russian Tikhomirov (NIIP) Pero: This passive phased array radar was originally designed as a successor to the N001VEP radar on Chinese Su-30MKKs. A unit has successfully completed evaluation in China by early 2000, but China did not place any order. In 2007, Western sources, including Jane's Information Group, have claimed (and confirmed subsequently by the Russians) that China is once again showing interest in this radar, which might be used for the J-10 or its successor. The relatively small size of the antenna array of the Pero radar (750 mm), in comparison to the larger RP-35, makes it easier to integrate into the J-10, providing advantages over its competitor. The Pero radar differs from other passive phased array in that it adopts space-feed technology.

In January 2007, scientists and engineers at Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation revealed to the public that the current radar of J-10 is a slotted planar array one with capabilities to simultaneously track 10 targets and engaging 4 of the 10 tracked. However, the scientists and engineers stopped short of revealing the exact designation of the radar, and only claimed that development was in progress to arm the aircraft with a passive electronically scanned array airborne radar. It is rumored the passive phased array radar is either Russian-made or jointly developed with the Russians.^[21]

[edit] Head-up display (HUD)

When Chinese Su-30MKK and Indian Su-30MKI were deployed in the humid subtropical and tropical zones, both had experienced significant fogging problems for the Russian SILS-30 HUDs, which was originally designed for arid environment in arctic/subarctic zones, thus a great deal of effort was spent to solve this issue so that the holographic HUD of Chinese origin on J-10 could be deployed in any environments like its western counterparts. Alternatively, western HUDs can be incorporated directly into the aircraft with little effort due to the modular design and the adoptation of MIL-STD-1553B. The Chinese designed HUD for J-10 has inherited Russian/Soviet tradition of doubling as a radarscope, enabling the pilot to keep his eyes focused at infinity while working with his radar at the same time, a feature originally reverse engineered from MiG-23s obtained from Egypt. The Chinese further expanded this function to include the projection of monochrome images from electrical optical pods J-10 carried, though the colored images from these electrical optical pods would still have to be displayed on the head down displays. Contrary to JF-17 HUD where similar function does not come as a standard feature, but as an extra feature instead, Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation publicly announced at 6th Zhuhai Airshow held at the end of 2006 that for J-10 HUD, such function comes as a standard feature.

[edit] Electro-optical systems

A family of indigenously developed electro-optical (optronics) system has been developed for J-10 by Sichuan Changhong Electric Appliance Corporation. (四川长虹电器股份有限公司) The domestic Chinese optronics system is more advanced than the Russian Izdeliye series which lacked the infrared imaging (ImIR) capability. The Chinese system is named as Type Hongguang-I Electro-optical radar (虹光-Ⅰ型光电雷达), with Hongguang meaning Rainbow Light, and it is a third generation optronics with ImIR capability and utilizes HgCdTe focal array, and received its certification on March 3, 2005 and subsequently entered service. A year later, the system was revealed to Chinese pubilc at the Conference on (Making) Sichuan Province a Strong Industrial Province (四川工业强省工作会). During the conference that lasted from March 26 to March 31, 2006, many cadres attending the conference including the Sichuan provincial (communist) party secretary Zhang Xuezhong (张学忠) were shown and operated an actual system demonstrated at the conference. Type Hongguang-I Electro-optical radar is also designed to be compatible with H-6, JF-17, JH-7, J-8, J-11 and other large aircraft. Based on the limited information released, Hongguang-I optronics has a maximum range up to 75 km, longer than the Izdeliye OLS-27 (36Sh) optronics with 50 km on Su-27, but shorter than the Izdeliye OLS-30 (52Sh) optronics on Su-30.

In comparison to Russian Izdeliye family of optronics such as OLS-27 (36Sh) on Su-27 and OLS-30 (52Sh) on Su-30 that weigh over 200 [kg]], the Chinese system is much more lighter and compact, but still not enough to be fitted into the nose of the aircraft when the current available radars are installed. As a result, only the podded version can be carried by earlier production models of J-10. Many domestic Chinese sources have claimed that this is the reason why the radar selection of J-10 has not yet been finalized, due to the need for a more compact and lighter one while maintaining the same capability at the same time in order to install the domestic optronics system internally like similar systems on F-14, MiG-29 and Su-27.

[edit] Electronic countermeasures

A comprehensive ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) package is likely to be present, including active jammers such as the BM/KG300G self-protection jamming pod. Additionally, the KZ900 electronic reconnaissance pod can also be carried. In various defense, aerospace/aeronautical and electronic exhibitions, various Helmet-Mounted Sights developed by domestic Chinese firms have been shown, claiming to have better performance than those of Russia. At various defense and aerospace exhibitions held in Beijing and Zhuhai, the J-10 has also been featured in photos and models carrying the Blue Sky navigation pod low-altitude navigational and attack pod and the FILAT Forward-looking Infrared Laser Attack Targeting pod.

[edit] Weapons and external loads

The wings provide 11 hardpoints for the attachment of up to 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) of weaponry, fuel drop tanks, and ECM equipment. Built-in armament consists of a 23 mm cannon, located within the fuselage. External weaponry may include: short-range infrared air-to-air missiles (Chinese PL-8, or the Russian R-73), medium-range radar-guided air-to-air missiles (Chinese PL-11, PL-12, or the Russian R-77), laser-guided and unguided bombs, anti-ship missiles (Chinese YJ-9K), and anti-radiation missiles (Chinese PJ-9).

[edit] Variants

• J-10A : Single seater baseline Multirole model. The export designation is F-10A.
• J-10B : Twin seater version, for Training, Electronic Warfare (EW), Mini-AWACS and possibly Ground Attack. The export designation for the twin seater, however, remains F-10B.
• Super-10 (J-10C) : A "stealth", twin-engined, naval carrier-based variant with thrust-vector control^[22]

[edit] Specifications (estimated)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 (basic), 2 (trainer variant)^[6]
• Length: 15.5 m (50 ft 10 in)
• Wingspan: 9.7 m (31 ft 10 in)
• Height: ()
• Wing area: 39 m² (419.8 ft²)
• Empty weight: 8,000–9,730 kg (17,637–21,451 lb^[23])
• Loaded weight: 18500 kg (40,785 lb ^[24])
• Useful load: 5,500 kg (9,920 lb^{[citation needed]})
• Max takeoff weight: 19,277 kg (42,500 lb^[6])
• Powerplant: 1× Saturn-Lyulka AL-31FN or Woshan WS-10A "Taihang" turbofan
  • Dry thrust: 89.43 kN / 89.17 kN (17,860 lbf / 20,050 lbf)
  • Thrust with afterburner: 122.5 kN^[6] / 129.4 kN (27,557 lbf / 29,101 lbf)

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 2.2 at altitude^[6], Mach 1.2 at sea level^[3]
• g-limits: +9/-3 g (+88/-29 m/s², +290/-97 ft/s²^[3])
• Combat radius: 1,800 km^[25] (1,118 mi
  • Maximum range (without refueling): 3,000 km (1,864 mi^[6])
• Service ceiling 20,000 m (65,600 ft^[3])
• Wing loading: 335 kg/m² (64 lb/ft²)
• Minimum thrust/weight:
  • With afterburner: 0.98

Armament

• Guns: 2× 23 mm internal cannon
• Hardpoints: 11, 3 under each wing and 5 under the fuselage
• Missiles:
  • Air-to-air: PL-8, PL-9, PL-11, PL-12
  • Air-to-surface: PJ-9, YJ-9K, 90 mm unguided rocket launcher pods
• Bombs: laser-guided bombs (LT-2), glide bombs (LS-6) and unguided bombs

[edit] See also

• IAI Lavi
  

Related development

• Chengdu J-9
  

Comparable aircraft

• JAS 39 Gripen
• F-16 Fighting Falcon
• Mitsubishi F-2
• MiG 29
• HAL Tejas
• JF-17 Thunder
  

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

General information:

• Air Force Technology J-10 page (English)
• AirForceWorld.com J-10 article, with photos (Chinese)

• [2]

Russians confirm the Israeli involvement in the J-10 SibNia and IAI Involvement in the J-10

• Chengdu J-10 (Jian-10 Fighter aircraft 10) / F-10 at GlobalSecurity.org (English)
• Chinese Defence Today (SinoDefence.com) (English)
• Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2002-2003 (English)
• Chinese Military Aviation at Stormpages.com (English)
• Air Forces Monthly specifications via Milavia.com (English)

News and magazine articles:

• MIW article on the J-10 (English)
• Combat Aircraft - The International Journal of Military Aviation, Vol. 7, No. 9, November 2006 (English)

Photo galleries:

• J-10 Pictures at DefenceTalk.com. Includes official press release photos (English)

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