The Hindustan Times has compared the overall performance of the J-10 with the Indian LCA light fighter. The newspaper said that China's J-10 has only single and two-seaters, while India's LCA program has included the development of single-seat, two-seat and carrier-based models from the beginning. Whether it is weapons systems or electronic radar systems, the Indian LCA light fighter is on the same level as the most advanced C/D model of the JAS-39 model.
There are also Indian media that China's J-10 fighters are backward in refueling technology and cannot adapt to continuous air combat. The "Universal Partner Refueling System" developed by India is the world's most advanced refueling technology. Only India currently has the technology in Asia. China's J-10 is still using oil-receiving cones, which not only slow refueling, but also refueling less at a time, affecting continuous air combat.
The body dimensions are 13.2 meters long, 8.2 meters wingspan, 4.4 meters in height, 38.4 square meters in wing area, 6.56 tons in empty weight, 13.5 tons in maximum take-off weight, maximum speed at Mach 1.6, range of 1850 km (internal oil), combat radius of 500 km, ceiling of 16,000 m, and aspect ratio of 1.79.
This is a decent light fighter, the range is relatively short, the ceiling is not high, the speed is not fast, if there is no problem, as a homeland air defense fighter forward deployment, there is not necessarily much of a problem. Its maiden flight was in 2001, just three years after China's J-10 combat maiden flight.
Indian media have always believed that India's LCA light fighter is more advanced than the J-10 medium aircraft, and even boasted that many countries around the world want to buy LCA fighters, but since entering the Indian Air Force in 2015, a total of only 40 have been delivered, while China's J-10 fighters, has produced more than 700 units, who advanced Indian friends must have another statement, but whether it is practical, the estimated number of production may also be seen one or two.
The reason is that there are quite serious problems in the design of LCA fighters, the aspect ratio of this fighter is only 1.79, according to the design is a high-altitude high-speed model, but the air intake is suitable for subsonic fixed type, completely the bull's head is not the horse's mouth, and the body is overweight, overload is insufficient, but at present LCA can only be like this, the Indian Air Force can only watch and do.
LCA Mk II fighter: far away
Srivastava said that based on his 30 years of flying experience, it is unlikely that the LCA Mk II will take off before January 4, 2026, and even if it makes its first flight in 2026, it will be at least after 2036.
The LCA Mk II fighter is a single-engine canard delta wing multirole fighter designed by the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in cooperation with the Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC), which is simply understood as a pair of canards in front of the LCA fighter. However, the size of this model has been increased:
The fuselage length is 14.65 meters, the wingspan is 8.5 meters, the height of the aircraft is 4.87 meters, the wing area is 44 square meters, the empty weight is 7.85 tons, the maximum take-off weight is 17.5 tons, the engine is a GE (General American General Motor) F414-INS6 afterburner turbofan engine with FADEC, the maximum speed is Mach 1.8, the combat radius is 1500 km, the maximum range is 3500 km, the ceiling is 17,300 m, and the overload is +9/-3.5.
Overall, this fighter is similar to the Chinese J-10 (the maximum take-off weight is 10 tons less than the J-2), belongs to the category of medium fighters of the same class, the engine is still from GE, and refers to the J-10's canard design, but the author looks at the CG diagram, the vortex increase coupling of this canard wing is more difficult, I don't know what Indian friends think.
Of course, the technical requirements are not the main problem faced by Indian LCA fighters. India's domestic "Kavili" engine is even more distant than LCA. India had to import the American F404 engine, the F-404 thrust is only 80-85 kN, while LCA needs 95-100 kN thrust to exert design performance. So India decided not to buy it! Buy the American F-414 engine, which is an afterburner turbofan engine designed by General Electric to meet the requirements of the US Navy for the F/A-18E/F, the latest development of the F/A-18 Hornet fighter. It is based on the company's F404 and F412, so it was once known as the Type II thrust growth version of the F404. Development began in 1991. It was first tested on May 20, 1993. The first test flight was scheduled for December 1995, and the first production engine was finalized and delivered in 1998.
The Indian side is optimistic, buy! The design of the carrier-based LCA was approved in 1999, but the Indian government did not approve the naval version into engineering until mid-2002. According to the LCA carrier-based aircraft plan, the pre-research work includes carrier-based flight control laws, large-stroke landing gear, ski-jump take-off technology, etc. The carrier-based LCA is scheduled to enter service in 2006. It is obvious that the schedule of the LCA carrier-based aircraft once again shows its unreliable characteristics.
Objectively speaking
Although our J-10 is not very advanced, in terms of the relevant technology and intellectual property rights accumulated by the two countries, India is really far behind, India's aviation industry level has been lagging behind us for a period of time, completely relying on imported military aircraft. Since its inception, only two fighters have been developed on its own, one is the HF-24 "marut" (God of Storms), which served until the mid-nineties, and then the LCA this strange guy. Just because its expectations for the expected performance of the two fighters are too high and too comprehensive, it shows the immaturity of the country's aviation technology.
The mainland has mature technology and rich experience, starting from the J-5 China's aviation industry from scratch, from small to large, from weak to strong, is step by step, India is so ambitious, LCA design indicators India's industrial level has not been able to reach, has been to make improvements to rely on foreign technical support, to turn a good end of independent design into "international products", can only show that India's design thinking has problems, the army's "Arjun" tank lessons, has not been learned ah.
Speaking of LCA performance alone, the forward-convex front-edge aerodynamic shape of its wing doomed it to poor maneuverability and unsuitable for air combat, so later India also changed it to a local-oriented fighter.
The engine is the American F404-F2, the intermediate thrust is 4800daN, afterburner 8000daN, the Taihang engine of the J-10 is derived from AL31, the intermediate thrust is 7620daN, the afterburner is 12250daN, compare this number difference, look at the power of the two aircraft...
The cockpits are all intelligent glass cockpits, there is nothing to say.
LCA uses Ericsson's PS-05A. The maximum search range for air targets reaches 120 km. It can track 10 targets simultaneously and engage 4 targets simultaneously, but the LCA's smaller nose than the JAS-39 limits the size of its antenna. Its performance is much smaller.
The J-10 uses the domestic Type 1473 radar, which is the best radar already equipped, with a detection range of 130 kilometers below 3 square meters in air-to-air mode, and a radar attack range of 90 kilometers, which can track 10 targets and attack 4 of the most threatening ones. See farther than LCA ~
In addition to the lack of production capacity, India's LCA fighters still have many shortcomings that need to be improved. An Indian agency once conducted an assessment of LCA, and the results showed that even LCA fighters that have been delivered can only be regarded as "semi-finished products". These quality issues will be solved over time, but another big problem with LCA is difficult to solve, and that is price. According to previous reports by Indian media, regarding the unit price of LCA fighters, Hindustan Airlines quoted the Indian Air Force at about $67.5 million each. That's even higher than the Su-30, so it's no wonder the Indian Air Force doesn't want to buy its own LCA fighters. On the whole, India still has a long way to go if it wants to mass-produce and equip domestic LCA fighters.
1. The J-10 is already in service; LCA tinkering, flight tests have not yet been completed;
2. The localization rate of the J-10 is relatively high, but both types of aircraft need to be imported in key components such as avionics and engines, so other people's policies determine the advantages and disadvantages of the two aircraft to a certain extent. But China's avionics can all be domestic, and the J-10's AL31 engine will be replaced by the domestic WS-10 that has been tested on the J-11, and LCA's F404 definitely depends on the face of the Americans;
3. The same is true for weapons and equipment, but in terms of air combat, China has developed and equipped PL-12 medium-range combat bombs, and India can only look at the AIM-120 or AA-12 of the United States and Russia to have the capital to confront;
4. Aerodynamic layout, J-10 elegant, at least one level with the F-16C Block 50. I don't mean to disparage LCA, but whoever wants to say that his turtle lid is beautiful or practical, I must suspect that the dude is eating the wrong thing;
5. India's initiative to set off comparisons, or the influence of the shadow of the 62 years of war and the inferiority complex, the answer is also clear. Frankly speaking, the aviation industry base of both countries is not high, but China is stronger. We are still aiming at the United States, and when India takes the initiative to compare aircraft with the United States and Russia, its LCAs will really surpass China