J-10 MASS Production Starts.

Mass Production of High-tech Fighter Jian-10 by China.

By Yoo-Sung Hwang [email]yshwang@donga.com[/email].
344 words
23 December 2003
Dong-A Ilbo Daily
English
(c) 2003 Dong-A Ilbo Daily. All Right Reserved

In response to Taiwan’s independence movement and in the midst of increasing conflicts between the two Chinas, the People’s Republic of China will start mass-producing their self-developed high-tech fighter aircraft, Jian-10, from January next year. China is planning to secure the command of the airspace over the Taiwan Channel by 2005, QianLongWang, an internet website, said on December 13.

According to QianLongWang, China will occupy the command of the airspace around Taiwan within two years after adopting the Jian-10 along with existing Suhoi-27 and Suhoi-30 from Russia. It is five years earlier than the Western military experts’ prediction of the timeline, which was by 2010.

An official in the Chinese Air Force said, “By the year 2005, we will furnish four squadrons of Jian-10 fighters in real stations and win the war against Taiwan in the future.” One squadron of the Chinese Air Force is as large as a battalion of the Korean Air Force with 20 fighters plus or minus two per squadron, and four squadrons equal 80 fighters, which is the number of fighters in one flying corps in Korean military.

Taiwan has placed a Mirage-2000 fighter corps adapted from France in the central city of Taichung.

J-10 is the Russian Suhoi-27 with an improved engine of AL31FN and high-tech fire-control radar that can follow 20 objects within the boundary of 150 km and attack four objects simultaneously. The qualities of the fighter surpass those of the U.S.’ F-16 and are comparable to the Mirage-2000.

Chengdu Aerospace Company of the Sechuan Province is currently producing two J-10s every month in one of their manufacture lines and is planning to build another line to increase the manufacturing next year. The company is also studying to develop the J-10 bi-directional engine type for aircraft carriers and the double-seat type for the purpose of training.