Chengdu J-10

The J-10 Chengdu is a multi-role fighter aircraft, produced by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Co. (CAC). The program began in 1986 with the goal of developing a fighter that could counter the Russian MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. The J-10 is a capable fighter-bomber, which will be operated alongside China's interceptor fleet of J-11 licensed built Su-27 and the imported Su-30MK Flankers. It will boast China's tactical air-to-ground capability replacing the older J-7 and Q-5 attack aircraft. The J-10 was officially unveiled by the Chinese government in January 2007, when photographs were published by Xinhua News Agency. The aircraft's existence was known long before the announcement, although concrete details remained scarce due to secrecy. In the official announcement Xinhua News Agency and the PLA Daily denied rumours that one of the prototypes had crashed during testing, and listed this is one of the test pilots' accomplishments. Later reports confirmed the crash and the subsequent cover-up. The first plane, "J-10 01", rolled out in November 1997. Its successful maiden was flown on 23 March 1998 by test pilot Lei Qiang and lasted twenty minutes. The J-10 were first delivered to the 13th Test Regiment on 23 February 2003. The aircraft was declared 'operational' in December of the same year, after 18 years in development. The first operational regiment was the 131st Regiment of the 44th Division. The J-10 is also used by the Pakistani air Force. The J-10s would be modified to Pakistani requirements, and be delivered to two PAF squadrons in 2014–2015 as the FC-20

Due to the J-10's aerodynamically unstable design, a digital quadruplex-redundant fly-by-wire flight control system aids the pilot in flying the aircraft. Chinese aircraft designer Yang Wei is claimed to be the chief designer of the fly-by-wire flight control system, although this is disputed by analyst Richard Fisher who credits Israeli consultants for developing the system. The flight control computer provides automatic flight coordination and keeps the aircraft from entering potentially dangerous situations such as unintentional slops or skids. This therefore frees the pilot to concentrate on his intended tasks during combat.