PLA's aerobatic jets arrive in Singapore to take part in air show

Seven J-10 aerobatic jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force arrived at Changi Airport in Singapore on Tuesday afternoon to take part in the 10th Singapore Airshow, according to the PLA Air Force.

Senior Colonel Xie Peng, spokesman for the Air Force, said in a news release that this will be the second time for the August 1st Air Demonstration Team, China's best-known aerobatic team, to participate in the Singaporean event, following the 7th edition in February 2020.

It will also become the 13th occasion for the August 1st team to perform at an overseas air show, he said.

Xie noted that the J-10 jets took off from an air base in southwestern China and were refueled by a YY-20A tanker aircraft during their flight. The pilots will make some training flights to adapt to the local environment, he added.

Video clips published by the Air Force show that the display group in Singapore consists of two models in the J-10 series — J-10SY and J-10CY.

The J-10SY is an aerobatic variant of the J-10S two-seat trainer, while the J-10CY was developed based on the J-10C combat jet for stunt display.

The J-10 family has multiple types of supersonic multirole jets developed and built by the State-owned aircraft giant Aviation Industry Corp of China.

An export version of the J-10C was reported to have achieved its first-ever hit record in a regional conflict last year, attracting wide attention.