| J-10 Vigorous Dragon | |
| Type: | Multirole combat aircraft |
| National Origin: | China |
| Manufacturer: | Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group |
| First Flight: | 23 March 1998[1] |
| Design Group: | Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute |
| Introduction: | 2004 |
| Status: | In service |
| Primary User: | People's Liberation Army Air Force |
| More Users: | Pakistan Air Force |
| Produced: | 2002 – present[2] |
| Number Built: | 600+ as of 2023 |
The Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon (; NATO reporting name: Firebird[3] [4]), is a medium-weight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft using a delta wing and canard design. It is produced by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF). The J-10 is mainly designed for air-to-air combat, but can also perform strike missions.
In 1981, PLAAF Commander Zhang Tingfa submitted a proposal to Deng Xiaoping for the development of a third-generation fighter for ; it was accepted later that year by the Central Military Commission (CMC). It was the first Chinese aircraft program to incorporate modern development and acquisition processes.[5] In one departure from the past, the supplier was now responsible directly to the customer; this allowed the PLAAF to communicate its requirements and ensure they were met; previously suppliers were responsible to their managing agency, which could produce products that failed to meet end user requirements.[5] Another difference was the selection of a design through competition, rather than allocating a project to an institute and using whatever design that institute created.[6]
Design proposals were made by the three major aircraft design institutes. Shenyang's proposal was based on its cancelled J-13 with a F-16-like strake-wing. Hongdu's proposal was MiG-23/Su-24-like with variable-sweep wing. Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute's (CADI) proposal was a Saab 37 Viggen-like design based on its cancelled J-9.[6] CADI's proposal was selected in February 1984. The following month, CADI and Chengdu Fighter Factory were formally directed to develop and manufacture the aircraft, respectively. Song Wencong (宋文骢) became chief designer.
The engine was selected during the design proposal stage.[5] Candidates were an improved Woshan WS-6, the WP-15, or a new engine. The new engine, ultimately the Shenyang WS-10, was chosen in 1983.[7]
The State Council and the CMC approved the program in 1986,[5] code-naming it "No. 10 Project". Interest waned in the following years which constrained funding and prolonged development. The Gulf War renewed interest and brought adequate resourcing.[8] Unlike earlier programs, the J-10 avoided crippling requirement creep.[8]
Technical development was slow and difficult. The J-10 represented a higher level of complexity than earlier generations of Chinese aircraft. About 60% of the aircraft required new technology and parts, instead of - according to Chengdu - the usual 30% for new aircraft; the high proportion reflected both requirements and limited domestic capability. Development and modernization of China's aviation industry occurred alongside the J-10;[8] the program was an early Chinese user of digital design, modelling, and testing including computer-aided design (CAD) and computational fluid dynamics. The J-10 was the first Chinese aircraft to make major use of CAD for its structural design, allowing the detailed design to be completed in 1994. The hydraulics system was tested with physical models because of limited digital modelling capabilities.
The first J-10 was assembled in June 1997. Lei Qiang flew the first flight on 23 March 1998;[1] Lei was chosen for his experience with modern, foreign, third-generation aircraft. PLA training units received the J-10 ahead of schedule starting in 2003. Weapons tests occurred in the fall of that year. The design was finalized in 2004. Rumors of crashes during flight testing were actually mishaps related to the AL-31 engine.[9]
The J-10 became operational in 2006. It was officially unveiled by the Chinese government in January 2007, when photographs were published by Xinhua News Agency.[9]
The Siberian Aeronautical Research Institute (SibNIA) from Russia was involved in the program by 2006. According to SibNIA, it was only observing and instructing as "scientific guides".[10]
According to the images posted by China National Radio of a PLAAF live-firing exercise at an unspecified location in May 2021, J-10C Vigorous Dragons were equipped with distinctive exhaust nozzles of the WS-10B Taihang turbofan engine.[11] This marks the first time the WS-10 has been officially seen on an operational J-10.[12]
In 1988 Israel's defense minister denied a report by The Sunday Times that Israel and China had agreed to develop a fighter derived from the IAI Lavi, a project based on the F-16.[13] In 2006, Russia's SibNIA engineers believed that the J-10 was "more or less a version" of the Lavi, incorporating "a melting pot of foreign technology and acquired design methods... but there are a number of other pieces of other aircraft or technologies that are part of the configuration that they have acquired from different sources." In 2008, Janes claimed that the J-10 benefited from technical information from the Israeli project, citing senior Russian engineers who said they had heard this from Chinese colleagues.[14]
The Chinese assert J-10's features claimed to be from the Lavi are from the manufacturer's own previous aircraft design, for example attributing the J-10's Lavi-like double canard configuration to Chengdu's work on the cancelled J-9 of the 1960s and 1970s; this view is supported by Song Wencong,[15] who worked on the J-9 and became the J-10's chief designer, and PLAAF Major General Zhang Weigang.[16]
The J-10 was designed and developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute (CADI), a subsidiary of Chengdu Aircraft Corporation.
The cockpit has three liquid crystal (LCD) multi-function displays (MFD) and a Chinese developed holographic head-up display (HUD). These are compatible with a Chinese helmet mounted sight (HMS); the Chinese consider the HMS of the imported Sukhoi Su-27 to be worse.[17] [18]
The early J-10s were initially equipped with the Type 1473 pulse-Doppler radar (PD) developed by the CETC 14th Institute; the Type 1473 has been called China's first "successful" or "practical" PD radar.
The J-10B is equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) or passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar. According to Chinese accounts, PESA was never used due to unsatisfactory performance; AVIC 607 Institute and CETC 14th Institute developed a PESA radar that could track multiple targets simultaneously but had shorter range than the PD radar. PESA and AESA development delayed the J-10B. CETC 14th Institute helped to develop the J-10B's AESA radar.
The J-10 is powered by a single turbofan. The J-10A entered production with the Russian Salyut AL-31FN.[19] The initial version generated a maximum static thrust of .[20] In December 2013, Salyut reported it was testing an upgraded AL-31FN Series 3 for China with 250 hours more life and 1000 kg/f more thrust; the Series 3 would be equipped on the improved J-10B.[21] [22] Compared to the original Lyulka-Saturn AL-31F, the AL-31FN was fitted to the J-10 by rotating the gearbox and accessory pack to the underside.[19]
The J-10s intended engine is the Chinese Shenyang WS-10. The WS-10 suffered development difficulties and production of the aircraft went ahead with the Salyut AL-31FN as a substitute. A pre-production J-10C flew with a WS-10 at the 2018 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition; the engine nozzle was modified for stealth and thrust vectoring (TVC).[19] In March 2020, a video from Chinese state media showed a J-10C in PLAAF livery equipped with the WS-10B;[21] WS-10B-powered aircraft were in service by November 2021.[23]
The aircraft's internal armament consists of a Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 twin-barrel cannon, located underneath the port side of the intake. Other weaponry and equipment is mounted externally on 11 hardpoints, to which of either missiles and bombs, drop-tanks containing fuel, or other equipment such as avionics pods can be attached.
Air-to-air missiles deployed may include short-range air-to-air missiles such as the PL-8 and PL-10 (on J-10C), medium-range radar-guided air-to-air missiles such as the PL-12 and PL-15 (on J-10C), unguided and precision guided munitions such as laser-guided bombs, air-to-surface missile such as KD-88, anti-ship missiles such as the YJ-91A, and anti-radiation missiles such as the YJ-91.
The first aircraft were delivered to the 13th Test Regiment on 23 February 2003. The aircraft was declared 'operational' in December of the same year, after 18 years in development.[24]
The J-10C entered combat service in April 2018.[25]
The J-10C has been reported to have consistently prevailed in simulated combat engagements against Su-35 fighters acquired from Russia, with the fighter's reduced radar visibility allowing it to detect and fire on its target first. The fighter's lower radar signature and significantly more advanced sensors and weaponry for both visual and beyond-visual range engagements were cited by experts as leading advantages the aircraft retained. The J-10C gained victories against both the Su-35 and the J-16 in exercises for three consecutive years from 2019-2021.[26]
Negotiations for acquisitions for J-10A were started in 2006 when offered by China,[27] [28] but negotiations persisted into 2012 with the offer of the J-10B.[29]
In September 2020, it was reported that Pakistan was interested in the J-10C.[30] In December 2021, Pakistan announced the purchase of 25 J-10CEs, with an option for 11 more; they were expected to enter service in March 2022.[31] [32] On 4 March 2022, the first batch of 6 J-10CEs for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) landed at PAF Base Minhas (Kamra) after a ferry flight from Chengdu, China.[33] They were officially inducted into the PAF's No. 15 Squadron Cobras based at PAF Base Minhas on 11 March 2022.[4] [34] [35]
On 18 January 2024, Pakistan launched a series of air and artillery strikes inside Iran, targeting Baloch separatist groups, multiple JF-17C and Wing Loong II drones escorted by J-10CE launched attacks against BLA and BLF militant groups with GIDS B-REK Glidebombs. 9 terrorists were killed in the attack.[36]
In September 2024 Egypt announced it would buy Chengdu J-10Cs to replace their American F-16 fighter jets.[37] [38]
In November 2024 Azerbaijan started to show interest towards purchasing J-10 fighter.[39]
In November 2024 Iran researched ability to buy about 100 J-10 Fighters.[40]
On 12 November 2016, an August 1st Aerobatics Team training flight suffered a mid-air collision in Hebei. A twin-seat J-10 crashed. The pilot, Captain Yu Xu, and the co-pilot ejected, but Yu was struck by another J-10 and killed. Yu was the first woman certified to fly the J-10.[53]
In October 2020, the People's Liberation Army Daily released Head-up display footage of a J-10 crashing due to Bird strike.[54] The single pilot appears to have successfully ejected and survived.