Semi-Stealthy F-10 is Said to be Performance Equivalent to F-16 Fighting Falcon

If anyone on Taiwan isn't sweating yet, this November's chill may bring it on. The Red Chinese are preparing to unveil their latest fighter plane, the F-10, at the fourth China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China 2002), to be held in Zhuhai, November 4 to 10.

The world's largest air force has tried, over the years, to make up for its lack of sophisticated equipment through sheer force of numbers. While there is a case to made for that strategy, a large force of modern equipment is an even better plan. That's what the F-10 promises to be.

Although China has naturally refused to publish too much data on the new fighter, there's just enough information available to serve the propaganda purpose: it looks like a pretty darned good fighter plane. According to various sources, the F-10 will gross about 3000 lbs (~8%) more than the F-16; its engine puts out 2% more thrust. The F-10 will carry a 23mm or 30mm cannon, a slightly heavier caliber than the F-16's 20mm -- but the Falcon's rate of fire is assumed to be superior. Missiles? Smart munitions? Pretty much anything that will fit, can be carried by either aircraft.

The F-10 is also rumored to have incorporated several "stealth features," meaning... something, perhaps. The F-16 doesn't rely on stealth -- it just flies fast, delivers its weapons, twists its way out of enemy trajectories, shoots back, and high-tails it out of there.

For stealthy fighters, the US needs to wait for the F-22 Raptor and, later, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. For its part, the Raptor, by all accounts, will be the world's pre-eminent air-superiority fighter. The JSF will have a performance envelope similar to the F-10 or F-16's -- and it will be stealthy... and it can land vertically.

FMI: www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/fighter/j10/index.shtml