Falling in just behind Russia and the United States, China has been said to boast the third most powerful air force in the world, going by sheer numbers. A surplus of aging fighters based on older MiG-19 and MiG-21 fighters and various embargoes, however, forced China's PLAAF (People's Liberation Army Air Force) to look towards an indigenous solution, which materialized in the form of the Chengdu J-10. Although often overshadowed by the recent JF-17, the J-10 is a highly capable multi-role aircraft despite so little being known about its capabilities and combat prowess in the west. However, it managed to not only take shape, but enter service, despite possessing one of the most complex and problem-ridden development/design histories ever attributed to a fighter.
The roots of the J-10 program lie around 1985, originally as a government requirement for a high-performance air-superiority fighter capable of countering conventional western fighters. As the aircraft was being developed, a variety of air-to-ground weapons, versatile targeting systems and avionics were added to roughly put the J-10 in the class of, if not a level above, the F-16C in terms of performance. Although various airframe shapes and methods were tried, including one with side-mounted intakes, a design was settled on that possessed great similarities to Israeli Aircraft Corporation's (IAI) Lavi (Young Lion) technology demonstrator, especially where aesthetics were concerned. However, no official records/sources have confirmed this to date, and claim the J-10 was of a purely indigenous design. The failed Chengdu J-9 project also lent valuable data about tail-less, delta-winged fighters and many features were incorporated into the J-10's design, minus the side-intakes and several other minor features. The only international country that publicly assisted China was the Soviet Union, now Russia. Although China had originally intended to use lighter engines in the J-10, embargoes prevented them from acquiring American examples and the heavier but similarly performing Soviet AL-31F turbofans attained from Russia proved invaluable.
Before it even flew, the J-10 was subjected to extensive wind tunnel testing, and various problems were found with the airframe and design, which cost valuable time to rectify. The first of six true J-10 prototypes (those which most resembled the production fighters) flew in 1996, and although its initial test flight was successful, problems with aerodynamics which had first been seen in the wind tunnel tests re-surfaced, but to a lesser extent and were fixed. The issues plaguing the J-10 in the production stage did not end here, and in 1997 the second prototype fatally crashed, killing the pilot and stalling the fighter's introduction yet again. Several pre-production aircraft also flew and the J-10 finally entered service in 2005.
Despite a lengthy development process and a never-ending supply of trouble, the J-10 design is quite potent and until the advent of the J-20 fighter is the most capable indigenously-produced aircraft in PLAAF service to date. The J-10 was produced in three variants, two of which are serving in large numbers to date. The first variant, the J-10A single seat fighter, is characterized by its large delta-style wing and lack of tailplanes. A large intake is mounted underneath the cockpit to provide a steady mass of airflow for the engine. Canard foreplanes positioned on either side of the cockpit help the J-10A decrease speed quickly when landing, enabling the use of shorter runways. They also can be used to level out the aircraft and keep it steady during manoeuvres, allowing for a high AoA (Angle of Attack).
The cockpit of the J-10A is surrounded by a clear glass bubble-style canopy allowing for an excellent all-round view. Inside the cockpit itself are display screens, HOTAS-style controls (Hands On Throttle And Stick), and a helmet mounted sight. The canard foreplanes mounted on either side of the cockpit act as control surfaces and also allow the J-10A to decrease the high landing speed that results from the delta style wing. To keep the multi-role fighter on par with modern aircraft, it was designed to be aerodynamically unstable to allow for a high degree of manoeuvrability, and computer systems are used to make automatic in-flight corrections to the J-1A0's trajectory and control surfaces. Power is provided by a large Lyulka Saturn AL-31F turbofan putting out 79.43kNs of power, although this can be increased to 122.58kN with afterburner selected.
For air and ground combat, the J-10A boasts a formidable suite of guided, unguided, electronic, and countermeasure equipment. Eleven underwing hardpoints can hoist a load up to 4500Kg, usually comprised of air-to-air munitions. A port-side Type 23-3 dual-barrelled 23mm cannon for use in mainly air combat, PL-8, PL-9, PL-11, and PL-12 missiles (The two latter missiles are medium ranged missiles, while the former are short-ranged). Target designation pods have been seen on mock-ups and upgraded J-10Bs, but in small numbers. The J-10A's representative PL-8 Short-Ranged Air-to-Air Missile (SRAAM) is usually carried as a defensive measure for close range combat, even when dumb or smart ground-attack munitions are mounted on the hardpoints. Other possible ordnance includes drop tanks, electronic countermeasures pods (though these are somewhat rare), anti-ship missiles, rockets, and anti-radiation missiles.
Several other variants of the J-10 have been designed and built. Shortly after the single-seat design was finalised, a two-seat design designated the J-10S was unveiled. This variant can be used for pilot training but is fully combat capable, and the extra crewmember allows for more complex and versatile weapons-systems to be added. It has been seen in both air-to-air and ground-attack configuration, and sometimes carries laser designation pods. The cockpit has been extended to seat two pilots in a tandem style configuration. The dorsal spine of the aircraft was raised to accommodate the avionics equipment of the aircraft. The most recent J-10 variant, the J-10B (sometimes called the J-10 Super or Super-10), was unveiled in the late 2000s and seen with advanced Blue Sky Forward-Looking InfraRed (FLIR) pods, and laser-designator pods. Although China was the first country to order the J-10, Pakistan, with whom China has had friendly relations with in the past, also expressed interest and placed orders. A carrier capable J-10C has also been looked in to, and may serve on the Varyag carrier acquired from Russia by China.
Written by: Pace51