Chengdu J-10

The Chengdu J-10 is a chinese fouth generation monoplace multi-role fighter created in 2004 to equip the People's Liberation Army Air Force and maybe the People's Liberation Naval Aviation, 300 of these aircraft were already ordered by the chinese govenment.

Description
The J-10 multi-role fighter is the first Chinese-developed combat aircraft that approaches Western fighters in terms of performance and capabilities.

Development of the J-10 began in 1988. It was intended to counter threat posed by the Soviet forth-generation fighters - the MiG-29 and Su-27. The J-10 was initially planned as an air-superiority fighter, however collapse of the Soviet Union and changing requirements shifted the development towards a multi-role fighter. Aircraft made it's maiden flight in 1998. The whole project was kept under high secrecy. Some sources claim that it was influenced by the IAI Lavi. The J-10 multi-role fighter entered service with Chinese air force in 2004, however it was first publicly revealed only in 2006. It is estimated that 300 fighter of this type will be required for Chinese air force and possibly naval aviation too. A number of countries, including Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and Thailand shown interest in purchasing this aircraft.

The J-10 has a single engine. The first batch of about 50 aircraft is powered by Russian AL-31FN turbofan engines. This batch was delivered to Chinese air force between 2004 and 2006. An indigenous Taihang turbofan is under development.

Variants

 * J-10A: Single seat multi-role variant. The export designation is F-10A.
 * J-10S: Twin-seat fighter-trainer variant of the J-10A. 27_109030_43d71727065dab0.jpg]]The forward fuselage of the aircraft is stretched to accommodate an additional pilot seat, two pilots sit in tandem with a single large bubble canopy. Also incorporates an enlarged dorsal spine which may accommodate additional avionics equipment or fuel. As well as serving as training aircraft, the J-10S may also be used for the ground attack role where the rear seat pilot would act as the weapon systems operator.
 * J-10B: An upgraded variant of the J-10, also known as the "Super-10." The existence of the J-10B is not confirmed by official Chinese sources, but numerous images of a new J-10 variant have surfaced, showing a prototype J-10 modified with a diverterless supersonic intake (DSI), an infra-red search and track (IRST) sensor, modified vertical stabiliser, ventral fins, housings fitted under the wings, and a modified nose that could indicate an AESA radar. It had its first flight in December 2008.
 * FC-20: An export variant of the J-10B designed for the Pakistan Air Force. First flight stated to take place in 2009.
 * J-10C: A carrier-based (possibly twin-engined) variant with more powerful engine, developed for future Chinese aircraft carrier.

Operators

 * People's Republic of China
 * People's Liberation Army Air Force - 120+ J-10A and AS in service according to 2010 IISS Military Balance, page 404
 * Pakistan
 * Pakistan Air Force - Initial delivery of 36 FC-20 scheduled for 2014-15.

General Characteristics

 * Crew: 1 (basic), 2 (trainer variant)
 * Length: 15.5 m (50 ft 10 in) J-10-Formation_01.jpg
 * Wingspan: 9.7 m (31 ft 10 in)
 * Height: 4.78 m (15.7 ft)
 * Wing area: 39 m² (419.8 ft²)
 * Empty weight: 9,750 kg (21,495 lb)
 * Loaded weight: 14,876 kg (32,797 lb)
 * Useful load: 4,500 kg (9,920 lb)
 * Max takeoff weight: 19,277 kg (42,500 lb)
 * Powerplant: 1× Saturn-Lyulka AL-31FN or WS-10A Taihang turbofan
 * Dry thrust: 79.43 kN / 89.17 kN (17,860 lbf / 20,050 lbf)
 * Thrust with afterburner: 122.5 kN/132 kN (27,557 lbf / 29,101 lbf)

Performance

 * Maximum speed: Mach 1.9 at altitude, Mach 1.2 at sea level
 * g-limits: +9/-3 g (+88/-29 m/s², +290/-97 ft/s²)
 * Combat radius: 550 km (341 mi)
 * Service ceiling: 18,000 m (59,055ft)
 * Wing loading: 335 kg/m² (69 lb/ft²)
 * Thrust/weight: .89

Armament

 * Guns: 1× 23mm twin-barrel cannon
 * Hardpoints: 11 in total (6× under-wing, 5× under-fuselage) with a capacity of 6,000 kg (13,228 lb) external fuel and ordnance
 * Rockets: 90 mm unguided rocket pods
 * Missiles:
 * Air-to-air missiles: PL-8, PL-9, PL-11, PL-12
 * Air-to-surface missiles: PJ-9, YJ-9K
 * Bombs: laser-guided bombs (LT-2), glide bombs (LS-6) and unguided bombs
 * Others: Up to 3 external fuel drop-tanks (1× under-fuselage, 2× under-wing) for extended range and loitering time

Avionics

 * NRIET KLJ-10 multi-mode fire-control radar
 * Externally-mounted avionics pods:
 * Type Hongguang-I infra-red search and track pod
 * BM/KG300G self-protection jamming pod
 * KZ900 electronic reconnaissance pod
 * Blue Sky navigation/attack pod
 * FILAT (Forward-looking Infra-red Laser Attack Targeting) pod