ZHUHAI -- There is an
old anecdote. The optimists around the world learn English. The pessimists,
Chinese. But down-to-earth study the Kalashnikov assault rifle.
I think it
is time for the down-to-earth crowd to study their rifles using Chinese
manuals!
Two years
ago every important source told me, let's wait two years and see what comes of
Now
everyone I trust says the Chinese pulled it off, and the J-10 has proven a
tremendously successful program.
I watched
how the J-10 flew over Zhuhai, in 30 degree Celsius temperatures and high
humidity.
The pilot
did none of the show tricks like post-stall or tail slide or pitch-back, but
turns were very tight, initial rate of turn very high. It was clear there is a
lot of potential in this airplane to achieve the same maneuvers more quickly.
The pilot
rarely used afterburner and the degrees of canard deflection were small. Still,
the airplane flew very well. I reckon it will beat F-16C or MiG-29/SMT easily.
Chinese
have already completed over 100 J-10s and they have bought more Russian engines
for next series.
I do not
think they would buy more Flankers since the J-10 is as good as the Flanker, to
say the least.
Chinese
military said "no" to local engine makers and "no" to local makers of some key
systems, instead buying these critical items directly from
As for
AWACS support, it is present with 4 A-50 equipped with KJ-2000 radars and it
seems the Chinese have bought a special version of the Ka-31, although very
much different from the Indian navy version. Apparently with a new radar.
If proper
tactics are used, the PLAAF can beat Taiwanese opponents in conventional air
war. Unless the
(Photos: Vladimir Karnozov)
on November 7, 2008 5:19 PM | Reply
Explain to me, based on this inept Chinese TV footage, that I should believe this comment about the J-10 Fighter by Vladmir Karnozov, that this demonstrates anything but being a potential TARGET for an AIM-120 AMRAAM?? Give me a break... Mark
on November 7, 2008 5:30 PM | Reply
I wasnt very impressed. Looks like an easy target for any western aircraft. Mark is right AIM-120 would blow it out of the sky.
on November 7, 2008 5:58 PM | Reply
Vlad might concede the point. Of course, I don't think he was trying to argue that the J-10 is too good for AMRAAM, but good enough to beat F-16s and MiG-29s in a dogfight. By Chinese standards, this might be considered a "tremendous success", as Vlad points out. Considering that many have many written off the J-10 as almost incapable of taking off, this would not be such a minor accomplishment, if true.
on November 7, 2008 6:08 PM | Reply
So the J-10 is as good as a flanker and "easily beats" F-16 and a MiG-29. And he's making this assessment from standing on the ground during an airshow?
on November 7, 2008 7:34 PM | Reply
Well, I agree that's a provocative statement, and not entirely justified by the facts presented. But this is what Vlad's sources are telling him, and, as my colleague the past five years, I've learned Vlad's sources are well worth listening too. Hope that helps.
on November 8, 2008 11:45 AM | Reply
Let's not forget that when the MiG-29 first started displaying in the West there were a lot of people running around declaring that the F-16 had had its day and that Western air forces were obsolete (ok, I exagerate, but not much!) Didn't really turn out that way, did it? If the J-10 is a F-16/MiG-29 equivalent then that's a huge improvement for the Chinese, but it's still at least a generation behind the front line Western aircraft. Whatsmore, whilst the air frame may be great, allowing neat, fancy air show displays, if the avionics/weapons/engines/pilots aren't up to scratch then it doesn't really make much difference.
The statement I found strangest in this piece was the contention that the J-10 will replace the Flanker in future Chinese procurement effects. Surely this misses the whole point of the programme, which was to give the PLAAF a decent high-low mix of fighters, with the J-10 being the F-16 to the Flanker's F-15.
on November 8, 2008 4:55 PM | Reply
well, the answer is obviously for the US to sell advanced fighters to Taiwan. Like, a non-stealthy 4.5th + gen fighter...
oh wait, we don't have something like that! snap! another sign of incompetent USAF leadership!
on November 10, 2008 2:47 PM | Reply
No matter how worse you think about this J-10, few points have been proved by this airshow, first, it's a good design, high performance combat aircraft,can enjoy in any dog fight with any F-15/16, within Chinese land based Radar range, can shot down any F-22/35 without any question,sorry, this is not true within US airspace, if not believe in it, you can try;second, even if one lost, doesn't means too much for Chinese AF, just build another one. That's it all and I think it's enough.
on November 12, 2008 10:00 PM | Reply
The latest version of the J-10 seems to be a highly-capable aircraft, especially for the price
(probably around the US$30 million mark, if not including development costs).
Specs would put it around the block 50/52 f16, or the Mirage 2000-5 Mark 2.
It's not a new model flanker, but should be superior to most legacy aircraft.
The Mig-35 & eurofighter should be quite a bit superior in a similar class, but you can buy 3-4 J-10's instead of a eurofighter. (i)(Mig-35's will probably be around the $40-$50 million mark, so that would be a toss-up.) (/i)
Things to note: a lot of Russian & Isreali help went into making this, & will probably still require Russian help on further engine & airframe development.
Current Chinese development on Electronics seems to pretty impressive according to most sources.
What radar goes into it seems to be the big question at the moment.
on January 19, 2009 7:50 AM | Reply
Well most people is being quite pessemetic on their views about the J-10. I personally think the Russian is being perfectly reasonable. Everyone was going on about the J-10's manouverability in close quarters, and this article proves some of the claims.
As for Russian help, I think that once the engine is Chinese, the aircraft will be fully indigenous.