New J-10 variant sighted -- Janes.

Latest write up from Janes on the new J-10 variant. Odd, I call reading something similar last week.

Images of the new-variant J-10 combat aircraft, which have appeared on the Internet, clearly show a revised engine inlet and IRST system (Internet)


New J-10 variant sighted

By Ted Parsons

23 March 2009

http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jdw/jdw090323_1_n.shtml

Chinese web pages have featured photos of a new variant of the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) J-10 multirole fighter that appear to confirm a spate of late December 2008 web reports on this same aircraft, with some accounts noting it has already been test flown.

This single-seat variant differs from the initial single-seat J-10 model in that it appears to feature a revised engine inlet, consistent in design with the diverter-less supersonic inlet (DSI) featured on the latest version of the Chengdu FC-1 lightweight multirole fighter. Reminiscent of the DSI modification first tested on a Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 30 in 1996, this modification saves weight and improves specific engine power and stealth. It also cleans up the J-10's previous complex inlet configuration, which was reportedly prone to vibration.

China's research on DSIs dates back to the late 1990s, with Chengdu's 611 institute for aerospace design having been assisted by government-funded research at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.