China’s New Fighter Makes Progress

AIN recently obtained the video footage of China’s indigenous J-10 fighter, which was released when the aircraft was officially revealed just over a year ago. Development of the J-10 started in the mid-1990s but was shrouded in secrecy amid speculation about technology theft from the West and of assistance from Israel following the cancellation of that country’s own Lavi fighter. The J-10 has a fourth-generation configuration, similar to some Western fighters, and is capable of air-to-ground as well as air-to-air missions. Deliveries of the J-10 to operational units of the Chinese Air Force started in 2004, and the footage shows aircraft belonging to the second regiment to be equipped.