Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation's dominant aircraft maker, will continue to improve its advanced fighter jet J-10CE to suit the requirements of foreign users, according to the model's chief designer.
Li Jun, a senior researcher at the Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, said the J-10CE still has significant room for improvement, and will have a viable service and market life of at least two to three decades.
"We are willing to export the aircraft to any friendly country that identifies with our development path and whose procurement requirements comply with the relevant laws and regulations of our country," Li said during a news meeting in Chengdu on Thursday, which was part of an open-house event at the institute and the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group.
The two AVIC subsidiaries in Sichuan province have developed and built some of the Chinese military's best combat planes, such as the J-10 and J-20 fighter jet series.
The J-10CE is the first variant in the J-10 series specifically designed for the purpose of export. The Pakistan Air Force has bought and deployed a number of J-10CEs.
"The J-10CE can adapt to customers' needs, including air superiority and strike against ground targets, and can be customized based on the environments and mission requirements of different users. We can also offer optional payload packages to clients," Li said.
According to the chief designer, compared with its predecessors in the J-10 family, the J-10CE has achieved a generational upgrade in its combat system, becoming a platform with all-around operational capability.
Li said that compared with early J-10 models, which could carry about 10 types of weapons, the J-10CE can carry dozens of different weapons capable of performing in air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea combat missions.
"The aircraft's avionics system has received a generational upgrade. Its Active Electronically Scanned Array radar system can rapidly detect and track targets, far outperforming traditional mechanically scanned radars," he said.
"The jet boasts powerful features including network-centric cooperative combat, beyond visual range multiple target engagement in intense electromagnetic scenarios, and multimode precision strikes. It can also prevail in medium- and low-altitude dogfights," he added.
Li emphasized that AVIC provides more than just an aircraft; it offers a complete combat system with capabilities including early warning, command and control, and electronic warfare. "The J-10CE's combat record of shooting down multiple hostile aircraft with zero losses in actual combat is a clear testament to the advantages of its platform and the systems behind it," he said.
Zhang Xuefeng, a military hardware observer and retired People's Liberation Army Air Force officer, said that China's advanced fighter jets, represented by the J-10, are reshaping the global defense industry landscape with multiple advantages.
"Chinese fighter jets offer high cost-effectiveness. Compared with Western fighter jets that usually cost hundreds of millions of dollars each, our products are more affordable with comparable performance. China can also tailor packages at different price points to buyer-specific circumstances, meeting the needs of various countries," Zhang said.
Furthermore, China is capable of exporting integrated weapon systems, including a full range of airborne weapons and electronic warfare systems, he noted. "We can provide airborne early-warning aircraft and compatible data links, enabling the digital transformation of users' entire combat systems," Zhang added.
