Chengdu J-10
J-10 Vigorous Dragon
F-10 Vanguard
J-10A seen at the 2008 Zhuhai Airshow
Role
Multirole fighter[1]
Manufacturer Chengdu Aircraft Industry
Corporation
Designed by
Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute
Introduced
2005
Status
Operational
Primary users People’s Liberation Army Air
Force
Pakistan Air Force
Produced
2003-present
Number built
120-160 [2]
Program cost
¥500 million RMB allocated in
1982[3] (Project #10)
Unit cost
$28 million USD (2008 exchange
rate)
$41 million USD (export version,
with parts and maintenance)
Developed
from
Chengdu J-9
[4]
The Chengdu J-10 (traditional Chinese: ??;
simplified Chinese: ??; pinyin: Jiān Shí, mean-
ing "Annihilator (Fighter) Ten") is a multirole
fighter aircraft designed and produced by the
People’s Republic of China’s Chengdu Air-
craft Industry Corporation (CAC) for the
People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).
Known
in
the West as
the "Vigorous
Dragon",[5] the J-10 is a multi-role combat
aircraft capable of all-weather day/night
operation.
The J-10 next-generation fighter program
remained unknown outside of a China until
December 29 2006, when the Xinhua News
Agency officially disclosed its active duty
status with the PLAAF.
Development
The program was originally backed by the
Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping,
who authorized half a billion Renminbi to de-
velop an indigenous aircraft, but the official
program did not start until several years
later in January 1986 when the Chinese gov-
ernment officially issued Project #10,[3] to
develop a fighter to counter new fourth gen-
eration fighters then being introduced by the
USSR (namely, the MiG-29 and Su-27). The
611th Institute, also known as Chengdu Air-
craft Design Institute was tasked as the main
developer, with Mr. Song Wencong, the chief
designer of J-7III assigned as the chief de-
signer, and Mr. Xue Chishou (???) as the
chief engineer. Initially designed as a special-
ized fighter, it was later remade into a multir-
ole aircraft capable of both air to air combat
and ground attack missions. However, a