China's F-16 Falcon: Meet the Chengdu J-10 Fighter

Why the J-10 Matters: While China's fifth-generation Chengdu J-20 fighter jet is the most recognized Chinese military airframe, it does not stand alone. One critical component of the People's Liberation Army Air Force is the Chengdu J-10. The PLAAF began to seek out a third-generation fighter to replace aging airframes. Manufactures Shenyang, Hongdu, and Chengdu all submitted proposals for different prototypes, and Chengdu was ultimately selected as the winner. While the J-10 was initially intended to be an air superiority fighter, its requirements shifted following the fall of the Soviet Union, and it came to embody a multi-role fighter. "The fighter is equipped with some domestic technologies, including the Type 1473 fire-control radar developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronic Technology." In 2021 China replaced these engines on the J-10 with the homegrown WS-10 Taihang engine.