Total Manpower Strength 46,000

PICTURES

STATUS

The J-10 project began in 1988, with the first aircraft mock-up completed in 1993, an all-metal frame used for wind tunnel testing.

A J-10 crashed in November 1995 during a test flight, delaying planned deliveries scheduled for 1998. A second J-10 crashed some time later. The program's chief test pilot was killed in one of the crashes. Flight testing resumed by mid-1999.

By mid-June 2002, China had 10 preproduction J-10s in operation. The first 10 J-10s were deployed in March 2003 to the Nanjing Military District for operational evaluation. There were reports of 16 aircraft built by May 2004.

Published reports predicted that the J-10 would make its first public appearance at the Fourth China International Aviation and Aerospace Expedition (Airshow China 2002), held in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, from Nov. 4-10, 2002. However, the plane did not appear.

There were estimates that as many as 30 were to be produced by 2005, which might have been the planned initial operational capability (IOC) date, though there has been no confirmation that this deadline was met. Sinodefence.com reports that first active PLAAF J-10 squadron will be the 44th Aviation Division based in Sichuan Province. The PLAAF has reportedly ordered 300 aircraft, though some accounts indicate as many as 500 J-10s could be produced.

Published accounts suggest that the J-10 may be in a current production run of 50 airplanes. Perhaps the best indication of intended procurement levels on the part of the PLAAF was the Dec. 15, 2004, deal Beijing signed with Moscow-based Salyut engineering production enterprise, a contract worth US $900 million. It called for the delivery of about 250 AL-31FN aircraft engines over the next six years.

According to a July 2005 report in Russia's Kommersant, Rosoboroneksport, the Russian state-owned arms trading company, has signed a US$300 million contract to export 100 modified AL-31FN turbofan engines to China. The engines are manufactured by Salyut Moscow Machine Building Production Enterprise .

The Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Dec. 29, 2006, that the Jian-10 (J-10) was already in operational service with the People?s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and had reached its initial operational capability (IOC). This was the first official announcement regarding the J-10.

According to a SinoDefence.com report in 2007, China intends to replace the J-10?s Russian Saturn Lyulka AL-31F with the indigenous WS-10A turbofan engine. Following more than a decade of difficulties in development, the engine was certified for design finalization in early 2006. Once an indigenous Chinese engine is fitted to the J-10, the Chinese government can export it without restriction. Pakistan, Thailand, and Sri Lanka are said to have shown interest in the J-10.

Global Security.org reports that the Chinese government has begun referring to the J-10 (Jian-10 ) as the "Qian Shi-10" ("Attack 10"), suggesting a change in the tactical role intended for the J-10 from an air defense fighter to a multirole fighter-bomber with air-to-ground mission capability.