Stay updated with breaking news from Hj 10. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
After delivering flight performances at the World Defence Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, seven J-10 fighter jets of the August 1st Aerobatics Team of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force flew directly back to China, accompanied and supported by the YU-20 aerial tanker, landing at an airport in western China on Saturday.
It would break historical pattern, but it may not be outlandish as you think.
While China has the J-20 Mighty Dragon fighter with stealth characteristics, it will be the J-10 that China depends on as the focal point of its air force.
The J-10 bears many similarities to the Israeli Air Force’s Lavi jet. Designed to perform very similarly to the F-16, Israel’s homegrown jet would serve as a mainstay of the service for many years. When the Lavi’s production line was nixed, Israel began exporting the fighter, including to China.
The J-10 made its maiden flight in 1998 and entered service with the PLAAF in 2004. It is configured with a delta wing and canard design that sets the aircraft apart from Russia's MiG-29 or the United States Air Force's F-16, while it is more reminiscent of the French Mirage series of combat fighters.