According to media out of China, the Royal Thai Air Force has proposed a new generation of fighter aircraft to replace the existing F-16A/B fighter, and China’s J-10C fighter is one of the potential candidates. If the bid is successful, J-10C fighter might witness the export of its first order.
According to Royal Thai Air Force, the current F-16A/B fighter jets were introduced in the late 1980s and has been in service for nearly 30 years.
The life span of a three-generation fighter is generally 30 calendar years. The Royal Thai Air Force upgraded the active F-16A/B fighter in 2010, it achieved the F-16MLU level and enhanced its combat capability. However, these fighters have entered a period of high failure and it has become more and more difficult to maintain their integrity rate, so the Royal Thai Air Force decided to introduce a new generation of fighters.
Now there are three of the most powerful competitors in the Royal Thai Air Force new fighter program, namely F-16V, JAS-39E/F and J-10CE fighters.
The Chinese J-10C fighter is a dark horse of the Royal Thai Air Force’s new generation fighter program. J-10C fighter is the latest improvement of China’s J-10 fighter.
It is equipped with a domestic WS-10B turbofan engine. The airborne fire control radar is upgraded to an active phased array radar. The cockpit is made of vitrified cockpit and the airborne weapon is medium and long. Air-to-air missiles and infrared imaging combat air-to-air missiles have the same overall combat capability as three generations of improved and three-generation-and-half fighters.
For export-oriented fighters, China is also open to airborne mission computers, allowing customers to access source code and integrate their own weapons and equipment.
There is also a relatively low price of domestic fighters. The price of the J-10C fighter is said to be only about half of JAS-39E/F fighters, which could be very attractive for Thailand.