China Built the J-10 as Its Own Fighter -- Then Flew It on Russian Engines for Twenty Years Before Its Homegrown Engine Was Ready

China Built the J-10 as its own fighter, then flew it for two decades on Russian engines before its domestic powerplant was ready, tracing a long path from earlier interceptor ambitions. The Chengdu-designed J-10 traces lineage to the Mach 2.4 J-9 interceptor, a program China spent 16 years trying to build before canceling it in 1980 without any flight. J-10 development began under Project No. 10 approved by the State Council in 1986, and the first J-10 flew on March 23, 1998. Designer Song Wencong aligned his official birthday with that date, and more than 600 J-10s now serve China’s air force and naval aviation, including aircraft fitted with the domestic WS-10B after years on Russian powerplants. The canard-delta lineage is also cited as running through the J-20 and J-36, underscoring competitive learning in fighter design.