Harrison Kass
The Chengdu J-10 represents a turning point in Chinese military aviation: the first truly modern, domestically designed multirole fighter fielded at scale. Often compared to the American F-16 or the Swedish Gripen, the J-10 symbolizes China’s transition from Soviet-derived platforms to indigenous design capability. And while the J-10 lacks stealth capabilities, it still serves as a central platform to the PLAAF’s force structure.
The J-10’s Origins and Development
Development of the J-10 began in the 1980s with the intent of replacing Beijing’s aging J-6 and J-7 fleets. The influences of the design are debated, with some suggesting that Israeli’s Lavi program provided technical inputs. The finished product entered service in the early 2000s, and was initially powered with the Russian AL-31FN engines, before being upgraded to Chinese WS-10s. The aircraft’s rollout (and the eventual engine upgrade) represented Chinese industrial maturation—and a stepping stone toward its eventual successor, the fifth-generation J-20.
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