After a string of exotic stealthy combat jets, both crewed and uncrewed, the newest Chinese military aircraft to break cover is somewhat different, but nonetheless interesting. The latest development concerns an advanced jet trainer, but one that clearly has potential as a light combat aircraft, too.
The new jet, the designation of which remains unknown, appears to be a product of the Hongdu Aviation Industry Group (HAIG), based in Nanchang, and best known for producing trainers. Initial imagery of the jet shows it both on the ground and under flight test, wearing a yellow primer paint finish. The aircraft has a classic tandem two-seat trainer configuration, two engines, and a conventional layout with swept wings, horizontal stabilizers, twin outward-canted tailfins, and twin ventral fins. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the aircraft is powered by a pair of homegrown WS-17 turbofans, which are fed by caret-type engine intakes.
A large head-up display is visible in the front cockpit in at least one image. Other features point toward a combat role, at least as a secondary mission, including the overall size of the aircraft and wingtip hardpoints, presumably for air-to-air missiles. The gray-colored nosecone may well accommodate a radar, a feature of both lead-in fighter trainers (LIFT) and combat jets.
Notably, there are also signs that the aircraft is intended to be suitable for carrier operations. It features notable robust tricycle landing gear, including twin nosewheels, while the prominent leading-edge root extensions would also help improve maneuverability at high angles of attack and at low airspeeds, such as during the approach to the carrier.
The appearance of the new aircraft at this point is interesting, especially as China already has more than one active advanced jet trainer/LIFT program.
The first of these is the Guizhou JL-9, exported as the FTC-2000 Mountain Eagle, development of which began around 2001, as a continuation of the earlier JJ-7/FT-7 design, itself derived from the J-7/F-7 fighter, the Chinese version of the MiG-21 Fishbed. The JL-9 added an entirely new front fuselage, with a fire-control radar, and the engine intakes were relocated to the fuselage sides. Befitting its LIFT role, the JL-9 has a double-delta wing and modern integrated avionics. On the other hand, the flight-control system is mechanical rather than fly-by-wire, and the single WP-13 engine is relatively primitive, inherited from the JJ-7/FT-7, although the aircraft is supersonic.
The JL-9G is a navalized version of the JL-9, a dedicated carrier trainer with strengthened landing gear and enlarged wings with leading-edge slats and leading-edge root extensions, among other changes.
The JL-9G was originally fitted with a tailhook, but this appears to have led to structural problems and was deleted. Therefore, the JL-9G can be used to practice carrier takeoffs from land-based ‘dummy decks’ but cannot be used for arrested recoveries. However, at least touch-and-goes have been carried out by the JL-9G aboard the aircraft carrier Liaoning or Shandong.
More ambitious than the JL-9 is the Hongdu JL-10, a type that has been exported as the L-15 Falcon, and which first flew in 2006. This was designed from the outset as a modern, advanced jet trainer/LIFT, and its design was aided by Russia’s Yakovlev. This is a twin-engine aircraft, similar in appearance to the Yak-130 Mitten and similarly powered by a pair of Ukrainian AI-222-25 turbofans.
The JL-10 was intended to provide a trainer better optimized for pilots headed toward frontline fighters like the J-10, J-16, and J-20. From the start, it included a fully digital cockpit with head-up display, color multifunctional displays, and ‘hands on throttle and stick’ control. It also has a digital fly-by-wire flight-control system and six stores pylons.
In common with the JL-9, a version of the JL-10 has also been developed as a carrier trainer. Although primarily used from shore bases, at least a mockup of the tailhook-equipped JL-10J has appeared on the aircraft carrier Fujian.
The JL-9 and JL-10 are also complemented by the less-advanced Hongdu JL-8, widely exported as the K-8 Karakorum and jointly developed by China and Pakistan starting in the mid-1980s. This is a straight-wing subsonic aircraft and serves primarily as an intermediate trainer, in much greater numbers than the more capable LIFT types.
The new HAIG trainer suggests that China is continuing to look for ways to optimize its fast-jet training pipeline, with the aircraft, like its immediate predecessors, likely expected to serve the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and Navy (PLAN). As such, a fully equipped carrier-capable version might well go aboard China’s carriers.
It may be the case that the new HAIG trainer is primarily intended to serve the PLAN, which would make sense given the rapid pace of development and the growing ambitions for China’s carrier air wing.
With the JL-9G clearly not considered entirely adequate as a navalized trainer, a carrier-capable advanced jet trainer/LIFT for the PLAN would make a good deal of sense. Meanwhile, the development of improved navalized versions of the JL-10 appears to continue, although the new design may supersede this.
At the same time, a land-based version of the new trainer could also be of considerable interest to the PLAAF, as it increasingly builds a fifth-generation fighter fleet and looks toward the integration of sixth-generation combat types.
For both services, there is also a question about the long-term viability of the powerplant of the JL-10, since this relies on Ukrainian engines, the supply of which is hardly straightforward. There have been reports that the JL-10 has at least been tested with Chinese-made WS-17 turbofans, but this remains unconfirmed for now.
Finally, there is the possibility of exports. The new HAIG design would appear to be especially well-tailored to the light combat aircraft market. Here, it would face competition from designs like the South Korean FA-50 and the Italian M-346. However, it seems to be more optimized for combat missions, including high performance and agility. While the FA-50 and M-346 are very much LCA derivatives of existing trainers, it is possible that operational missions were baked into the HAIG design from the outset.
Perhaps more importantly, as a Chinese design, it will be immune to the tight export restrictions that typically apply to Western aircraft in the same class. Past experience has shown that Beijing is generally open to granting export licenses to countries that might be prohibited from buying Western designs, especially those that use U.S.-licensed components. The aforementioned FA-50 and M-346, for example, both rely on American engines, making them harder to export.
In some respects, the design of the HAIG aircraft has parallels with Taiwan’s T-5 Brave Eagle. This was also developed for the advanced jet trainer/LIFT roles, and although the end result incorporates more than 80 percent new components, it was notably derived from an existing combat aircraft: the F-CK-1, which you can read more about here.
For now, we don’t know exactly what roles the new Chinese trainer/LCA might fulfil, but with the stealthy J-20 established in service, the J-35 waiting in the wings, and a series of even more advanced combat aircraft now apparently well into development, the appearance of an advanced training jet to prepare pilots for these platforms is certainly timely. Meanwhile, an export-configured light attack aircraft could also be very attractive to a number of foreign air forces.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com