Aircraft

The Department of Defense’s latest annual assessment of China’s military power says the indigenously developed Chengdu J-10 fighter is finally being fielded by the air force following completion of development last year. The Pentagon also says China last year renegotiated its agreement to licence-produce the Sukhoi Su-27MK as the J-11, enabling it to complete the remaining aircraft as multirole Su-27SMKs.

The report says China has nearly completed development and testing of an upgraded Xian JH-7 fighter/attack aircraft and that improvements include better radar, night-attack avionics and advanced weapons including anti-ship missiles. China is also pursuing domestic upgrades to its Shenyang J-8II fighters and the air force “appears interested in converting retired fighter aircraft into unmanned combat air vehicles”, the report says.

China also received the last of four S-300PMU-1 surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries from Russia last year and has agreed a follow-on purchase for the 200km (110nm)-range S-300PMU-2 for delivery from 2006. A reverse-engineered HQ-9 copy of the PMU-1 has yet to enter service, but China has fielded the 15km-range FM-90 (CSA-7) self-propelled tactical SAM, an improved copy of the French Crotale missile system, the DoD says.