Chengdu J-10

The Chengdu J-10 (歼十, Jiān 10) is a multirole fighter aircraft designed and produced by the People's Republic of China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC) for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Known in the West as the "Vigorous Dragon", 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 missions.
The J-10 next-generation fighter program remained a top-secret classified project until 2006-12-29, in which the Xinhua News Agency officially disclosed its active duty status in the PLAAF.

History
The program started in 1986, to counter new fourth generation fighters then being introduced by the USSR (namely, the MiG-29 and Su-27). Initially designed as a specialized counter-air fighter, it was later remade into a multirole aircraft capable of both anti-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. 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 version of the J-10 development history is: The first flight of the J-10 took place sometime in 1996, the program suffered a major delay due to a fatal accident which occurred in 1997, and 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 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.No incident has been reported.After 18 years in development, the J-10 finally entered service in 2004.The aircraft were first delivered to the 13th test regiment on February 23th of 2003. 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 3th division also has J-10's.
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 (with designation of "FC-20" or "FC-10", depending on the report). The "Business Recorder" claims that the Pakistan 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 in saying the Cabinet has approved the purchase of J-10 from China, in addition to the JF-17. 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.".The J-10 export deal is estimated to cost $1.5 billion USD total with a flyaway price of $41 million USD for each J-10 fighter with maintenance and parts inclusive.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."

Possible Israeli participation
There are many speculative statements about the Chengdu J-10's relationship with the Israeli IAI Lavi fighter program. In formal (official) Chinese sources, the J-10 is said to have been developed from the canceled Chengdu J-9, which was a canard-configuration fighter program earlier than the Israeli Lavi - a fact that arguably counters the Lavi related speculations. 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 and filled with pride. 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."
However, there are persistent rumors that the J-10 project received Israeli assistance. One news article reported that when the U.S. government questioned Israel's Lavi technology re-exportation to China, the Director General of Israel's Ministry of Defense David Lari "acknowledged in an Associated Press interview that 'some technology on aircraft' been sold to China and that some Israeli companies may not have 'clean hands'".

Design

Engine
The J-10 is a single-seat, delta winged aircraft powered by a single, Russian-built AL-31FN turbofan (maximum static power output of 12,500 kgf (123 kN, 27,600 lbf)) or 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 Mr. Li Cunbao (李存宝)) revealed that a domestic engine is highly unlikely to be equipped in J-10s in the near future. In this interview publicized in January 2007, the pilots claimed that though the domestic Chinese engine could match the performance of the Russian one in every parameter, there was a very serious drawback: the domestic Chinese engine, the WS-10, took much longer to reach the same level of performance as its Russian counterpart. (According to Mr. Li Cunbao's experience, as well as other pilots who flew the J-10 with the WS-10A, it took at least 50% longer, and in many other aspects, almost 100% longer.)[citation needed] Although this only meant one minute difference at most, it was more-than-enough to make a difference between allowing the pilots to safely recover the aircraft by restarting the engine than abandoning the aircraft in a forced ejection. Another problem of the domestic Chinese engine is its lack of FADEC, which is needed for having a same or better aircraft performance when compared with an aircraft with a Russian engine. However, the current WS-10 version available with FADEC is not reliable enough to be accepted into service, and currently all of the matured WS-10s lack FADEC.
As a result of the difficulties faced by WS-10, J-10s are initially powered by Russian AL-31FN engine, and by the mid of the first decade of the 2000s, all 180 AL-31FN engines ordered in two separate batches by China have been delivered. Out of the 180 engines, 100 were built by the Moscow MMPP Salyut plant, and remaining 80 by Ufa-based UMPO, with the price for the first batch was $ 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 the Flanker series. The most significant difference between AL-31FN and other models of the AL-31F engines is that due to the limitation of the space available, protruding parts of the engine such as the pump are mounted opposite to that of AL-31F.
During the Paris Airshow in 2001, a prototype of a development of AL-31FN with thrust vectoring to meet Chinese requirement was revealed in public by the Russian engine developer Salyut, with a fully-variable swivel nozzle from the Klimov Design Bureau in St. Petersburg, with developmental cost at least partially funded by China, but the Russian stopped short of identifying which version of J-10 the thrust vectoring engine would be used on. It was revealed that the 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 the upgrades. Furthermore, it was not until the end of 2005 when China finally placed an order of 54 AL-31FN M1 engines at $300 million, but no follow-on orders have been placed since. Various domestic Chinese sources have claimed that the reason for not purchasing anymore AL-31FN M1 engine 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 AL-31F series only has a MTBO of 250 hours in comparison more than 1,000 hours of MTBO of the original AL-31F without the thrust vectoring capability, but Chinese sources claimed that in reality, the number is as low as 50 hours MBTO for thrust vectoring engine, the same problem India rumored to have experienced for its Su-30MKIs, but such claims have yet to be confirmed by sources outside China. Adding to the confusion, Chinese government had released the official photo of domestic thrust vectoring engine undergone testing around the same time, but did not provide any other information besides identifying the asymmetric nozzles of thrust vectoring engine in test, neither did China release any information on how reliable the domestic thrust vectoring engine is, such as its MTBO. Some sources outside China have claimed this domestic thrust vectoring engine might be for Shenyang J-11 while other disagreed. Regardless of how they are eventually used, thrust vectoring will undoubtedly boost the J-10's maneuverability. However, if the Chinese criticism on thrust vectoring engines proved to be true, then it is highly unlikely that any thrust vectoring engines would be used on J-10 anytime soon, and the lack of any follow-on orders of AL-31F M1 after the first order only seems to support this view.

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. 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 arrangement, 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 J-10 was Mr. Song Wencong, while the twin seater version of J-10 was designed by a younger person, the general designer of the JF-17 Thunder Mr. Yang Wei (杨伟). Mr. Yang is the chief designer of the fully digitized fly-by-wire control systems for both versions of J-10. This is disputed by analyst Richard Fisher who credits Israeli consultants for developing the system. 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 only has three internationally recognized test-pilots who are certified to perform test flights world wide, and all of them are recruited for 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 contributed greatly in trials of J-10 included Mr. Xu Yongling (徐勇凌) and Mr. Zou Jianguo (邹建国).

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 that is claimed to be superior than Russian HMS is also the standard equipment.
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 RP-35, most of the J-10 radars that have been publicized are slotted slotted planar array radars:
Israeli Elta EL/M-2035: The first radar onboard J-10 prototypes for testing purposes. The radar weight 138 kg 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 preproduction 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-1990, all of which have been delivered. This radar is a derivative of Zhuk (Beetle) radar on Su-27 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. 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 Chinese and China had already been seeking other alternatives for later production units of 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 radars on J-10. 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 that of west. However, there are other Chinese sources claiming that the maximum number of targets Type 1471 can track is less than 20, but instead, only 15, the same as that of JL-10A.
Italian FIAR Grifo 2000/16: Italian radar offered to Pakistan should Pakistan decided to order J-10. This radar can simultaneously engage 8 targets and like 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 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, Grifo-7, Grifo-Mk-II, and Grifo-MG fire control radars for Pakistani F-7MP/P/PG, and Grifo-2000/16 would have great advantage over its competitors when license assembly/production is included.
Russian Phazotron (NIIR) RP-35: the passive phased array radar designed as a successor to 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 upgrade instead, but such claim has yet to be confirmed.
Russian Tikhomirov (NIIP) Pero: the passive phased array radar originally designed as a successor to N001VEP radar on Chinese Su-30MKK. An unit has been successfully completed evaluation in China by the early 2000, but China did not place any order. In 2007, western sources including Jane's Information Group have claimed (and confirmed by Russians) that China is once again showing the interest in the radar, which might be used for J-10 or its successor. The relative small size of the antenna array of Pero radar (750 mm) in comparison to larger RP-35 makes it easier to integrated into 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/engineers at Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation revealed to the public that the current radar of J-10 is slotted planar array with capabilities to simultaneously track 10 targets and engaging 4 of the 10 tracked. However, the scientists/engineers stopped short of revealing the exact designation of the radar, 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 or jointly developed with the Russians. (Note: In 2007, many Chinese sources have claimed that the current production version is fitted with either a 147x series or 149x/KLJ-3 series fire control radar from NRIET.)
A comprehensive ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) package is likely to be present, including active jammers such as 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, claimed to have better performance than that of Russia. At various defense and aerospace exhibitions held in Beijing and Zhuhai, J-10 has also been featured in photos and models carrying Blue Sky navigation pod low altitude navigational and attack pod and FILAT Forward-looking Infrared Laser Attack Targeting pod.

Variants
There are currently 2 variants of the Chengdu J-10 fighter:
J-10A: Single seater baseline Multirole model
J-10B1: Twin seater version, for Training, Electronic Warfare (EW), Mini-AWACS and possibly Ground Attack
1: Some analysts mark the twin seater version as J-10S, while others have claimed that J-10S might be the designation of the rumored naval version for carrier deployments, but both claims have yet to be confirmed. The export designation for the twin seater, however, remains F-10B.

Other speculated variants
A possible naval version specialized for aircraft carrier operations
A "stealth" twin-engined variant with thrust-vector control "Super-10"

External loads and armament
The wings provide 11 hardpoints for the attachment of up to 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) of weaponry, fuel 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 un-guided bombs, anti-ship missiles (Chinese YJ-9K), and anti-radiation missiles (PJ-9).