China Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG)
J-10C
Latest-production single-engine, canard-delta multirole fighter from Chengdu Aircraft, upgraded with an AESA radar, infrared search and track, and enhanced beyond-visual-range weapons over the earlier J-10A/B. Backbone of the PLA Air Force's fourth-generation fleet and exported to Pakistan.
In service since 2018 · 2 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
2,200
km/h
2,950
km range
18,000
m ceiling
6,000
kg payload
1
T/W
💲 ≈ $40,000,000 — Estimated export unit cost, J-10CE
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
Chinese state channel
State export agencies (NORINCO/CATIC); limited availability to Western-aligned states.
Channel: State export agency
Fielded & proven
Limited · 2 operators
In service since 2018. Status: active · ~500 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$100M – $140M
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost — operating & support dominate over ~30 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price.
Interoperability
No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.
Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Full specifications
Performance
Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.
- Max speed
Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance.
- 2,200 km/h Stronger than 57% of fighters
- Max speed (Mach)
Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.
- 1.8 Mach Stronger than 31% of fighters
- Range
Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.
- 2,950 km Stronger than 41% of fighters
- Combat radius
Distance an aircraft can fly, complete its mission and return without refueling. Roughly a third of ferry range.
- 1,100 km Stronger than 57% of fighters
- Service ceiling
Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon.
- 18,000 m Stronger than 72% of fighters
- Thrust-to-weight
Engine thrust divided by loaded weight. Above 1.0 the aircraft can accelerate going straight up.
- 1 Stronger than 59% of fighters
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Main armament
Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.
- 23 mm twin-barrel cannon
- Hardpoints
External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.
- 11 Stronger than 76% of fighters
- Weapons payload
Maximum ordnance weight the platform can carry. Higher means more strike capacity per sortie.
- 6,000 kg Stronger than 32% of fighters
Protection
Armor, countermeasures and survivability.
- Countermeasures
Self-protection: chaff, flares, DIRCM, towed decoys, smoke dischargers, jammers.
- internal EW self-protection suite, chaff, flares
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 16.9 m
- Wingspan
Wingtip-to-wingtip span.
- 9.75 m
- Height
Overall height. Lower profile is harder to spot and hit for ground vehicles.
- 5.43 m
- Empty weight
Weight without fuel, ammunition or crew.
- 9,750 kg
- Combat weight
Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.
- 19,277 kg
- Crew
Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.
- 1
Propulsion
Engine, power and fuel.
- Engine
Powerplant model and type.
- Shenyang WS-10B afterburning turbofan (export J-10CE uses AL-31FN)
- Engines
Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.
- 1
- Thrust
Total engine thrust (with afterburner where applicable).
- 142 kN Stronger than 85% of fighters
- Fuel capacity
Internal fuel volume.
- 4,500 L
- Propulsion type
Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…
- Turbofan
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- Type 1475 (KLJ-10) AESA
- Sensors
IRST, EO/IR turrets, laser designators, sniper pods, thermal sights.
- infrared search and track
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
- Unit cost
Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper.
- $40,000,000 Stronger than 68% of fighters
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 500 Stronger than 69% of fighters
- Operator countries
Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.
- 2 Stronger than 50% of fighters
Specifications compiled from public Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
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What is the top speed of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C has a maximum speed of 2,200 km/h.
What is the range of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C has a maximum range of 2,950 km.
What is the weapons payload of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C can carry up to 6,000 kg of weapons payload.
How much does the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C weigh? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C has a combat weight of 19,277 kg.
How many crew does the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C require? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C requires a crew of 1.
What is the main armament of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C's primary weapon is the 23 mm twin-barrel cannon.
What engine does the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C use? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C is powered by the Shenyang WS-10B afterburning turbofan (export J-10CE uses AL-31FN).
What is the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C used for? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C is a fighter aircraft typically used for air superiority, multirole combat.
How many countries operate the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C is operated by 2 countries.
How much does the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C cost? +
The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) J-10C has an approximate unit cost of 40,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration — treat this as directional.
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