J-10 Firebird
| J-10 Firebird | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General Info | |
| Role | Medium Fighter |
| Hangar level | 12 |
| Difficulty | ★★★★☆ |
| Durability | ▰▰▰▱▱▱ |
| Speed | ▰▰▱▱▱▱ |
| Agility | ▰▰▰▰▱▱ |
| Traits |  Delta Wing Look And Shoot |
| Base Stats | |
| Hitpoints | 145 |
| Top speed | 1299 km/h |
| Acceleration | 50 m/s² |
| Turn rate | 37 °/s |
| Ideal turning speed | 792 km/h |
| Afterburner fuel | 16 s |
China's well-balanced, delta-wing, Medium Fighter from the mid 2000s, with agile heat-seeking missiles can lock onto targets using Free Look.
— In-game description
The J-10 Firebird is a Chinese medium fighter from the early 2000s. It has a good balance of durability, speed, agility, and firepower. Its Delta Wing trait provides an extra buff to turn rate when braking, and its unique trait of Look and Shoot allows it to fire its infrared missiles off-bore. This is done by using the camera to look at a target rather than turning the plane to point at the target. Its Phantom Missile special ability can provoke opponents into flaring or evading without using up a missile, giving pilots of the J-10 Firebird unique opportunities to support their team and disrupt the battlespace.
Loadout
The J-10 Firebird is equipped with short range 
×4 heat-seeking missile, mid-range 
×2 manual missile, and a weaker, slow firing 
internal precision cannon. The J-10 Firebird is also equipped with 
×4 flares.
| Type | Max Damage (DPS) |
Ideal Range (km) |
Reticle Range (km) |
Spin-up Time (s) |
Spread | Overheat Time (s) |
Ammo | Armor Piercing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precision cannon |
108 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0 | very low | 4.5 | ∞ | none |
| Guidance | Range Type | Range (km) |
Quantity | Damage | Speed (km/h) |
Turn Rate (°/s) |
Lock Angle (°) |
Lock Time (s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat-seeking missile |
Short range | 2.8 | 4 | 75 | 3240 | 45 | 10 | 0.8 |
| Manual missile |
Medium range | 6.8 | 2 | 85 | 4680 | 22 | 7 | 0.8 |
Special Ability
The J-10 Firebird has a special ability called 
Phantom Missile. When the ability is activated the target aircraft will get a false incoming missile alert for three seconds, and any additional missiles fired during that time by the pilot will be masked. This can be useful for provoking an opponent to use their flares before firing actual missiles at them. The relatively short cooldown on this ability means that it can often be used multiple times between restocking missiles. Phantom Missile does not cause a missile to show up on Radar, only the incoming missile alert.
Veteran tips
The J-10 Firebird a well balanced aircraft. Both its short-range and medium-range missiles have very short lock times and astonishing turn rates. Missile damage is at the level of other Medium Fighters. Its stand out attribute is targeting ability. With its special Look-and-Shoot trait, the target reticle for the short-range missiles leads the turn of the aircraft. With careful use of camera settings, the reticle can be placed up to 80 degrees from the nose of the aircraft. Its internal precision cannon is reminiscent of the cannon on the MiG-21 Fishbed, but with a slightly shorter overheat time. Its low base damage and lack of armor piercing ammo make the J-10 Firebird's cannon quite underwhelming. Its afterburner is extremely powerful, and it accelerates the J-10 Firebird quickly. The afterburner has impressive performance in a climb. The J-10 Firebird has a moderate top speed for a Medium Fighter and reaches that top speed quickly thanks to its strong afterburner. The J-10 Firebird is challenging to master. With the unique targeting and fast lock time, the aircraft requires situational awareness, and quick reflexes from the pilot. This is not an aircraft for inexperienced pilots. The J-10 Firebird has a strong competitive advantage in dog fights. Although it has an impressive 16s of afterburner fuel, its modest top speed puts it at a disadvantage in Air Superiority compared to aircraft that can reach higher speeds.
The J-10 Firebird can be challenging to master. Suggested tactics for maximizing effectiveness include the following;
1. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the afterburner, top speed, and speed and energy depletion from maneuvers. The afterburner is extremely powerful. The J-10 Firebird will reach its top speed after only a few seconds of afterburner use in level flight. Any more use of the afterburner is wasting precious fuel. It has 16 seconds of fuel, however it regenerates fuel slowly in level flight. It is suggested that the pilot pays close attention to airspeed and afterburner fuel. Avoid excessively running the afterburner. As soon as a turn fight happens, the pilot will need as much fuel as possible. The Delta Wing trait should primarily be used for sharp turns when coming down from the aircraft's top speed and should be mostly avoided once below the ideal turning speed as using the airbrake will shed airspeed very quickly. If the aircraft nears its stall speed, leveling and straightening out even briefly while applying the afterburner will quickly bring it back to its ideal turn speed.
2. It is suggested to keep the J-10 Firebird in terrain and utilize a peek-and-poke tactic. Place the aircraft out of cover just long enough to maximize its strong targeting, fire missiles, and retreat. Let the missiles do the majority of the work. The targeting turn rate on the short-range missiles have a turn rate that is an astonishing three times higher than that of any other aircraft. This noticeably decreases misses. Additionally, the medium-range missiles have both the second-highest damage and second-highest turn rate. The short-range missiles are only limited by their turn rate. In the right scenario, a locked short-range missile can make a 180 degree turn and track an opponent that is behind the J-10 Firebird. Use cannons as a last resort. The internal precision cannon is the weak point in the weapons loadout.
3. Careful selection and timing of the special Phantom Missile ability is crucial. At low level and low trophy counts, the Phantom Missile is not often useful. The Bot AI opponents will generally not flare or take evasive maneuvers. Unexperienced opponents will do the same. In this scenario, maintain conventional missile launches - medium-range, followed by a barrage of short-range missiles. Retreat to cover and find a re-arm ring. In the scenario of facing high level BOT AI opponents and experienced pilots, the special Phantom Missile ability is very useful. Bot AI will immediately flare and take evasive maneuvers when the Phantom Missile is triggered. The opponent will receive three seconds of radar jamming. The J-10 Firebird can now fire medium-range, followed by a barrage of short-range missiles while the opponent is still in flare cooldown. This can ensure a kill. Similarly with human pilots, the J-10 Firebird pilot would want to have the opponent prematurely flare, and put the J-10 Firebird pilot in a shooting situation where the pilot can send a barrage of missiles. The special Phantom Missile ability has an extremely long range. Careful selection to a high flying Interceptor can disorient the Interceptor pilot, and cause that pilot to disengage from long-range targeting. The special Phantom Missile ability can also be targeted to an opponent that a teammate is attacking. This opponent disorientation can support other pilots on your team. The cool down period is short. Utilize the special ability often.
4. Maximize in-game camera settings for the J-10 Firebird and practice its Look-and-Shoot trait in custom matches. The Look-and-Shoot reticle is not limited to the area in front of the aircraft. Utilizing camera free look, a pilot can achieve a missile lock by looking out the sides of the aircraft, or the view above or below the aircraft. To find and manipulate camera settings, tap on the 
menu icon on the top right.
- Maximize Targeting Circle Lead (PC and Mobile). In hangar, tap on the
menu icon on the top right. Tap "Settings". Tap "General". Scroll to "Max targeting circle lead", and drag the slider to maximum. This will extend the lead angels that the missile reticle will travel while targeting an opponent.
- Enable Padlock Camera (PC Only) In hangar, tap on the menu icon on the top right. Tap "Settings". Tap "Advanced". Scroll to "Padlock Camera Toggles", and drag the slider to "On". Tap "Bindings" scroll down to "Padlock Camera" and bind to a key or button. This view will allow the J-10 Firebird pilot to single out one target, and maximize the Look-and-Shoot reticle. (Mobile Only) In hangar, tap on the menu icon on the top right. Tap "Settings". Tap "General". Scroll to "Show Camera Button", and drag the slider to "On". This will place a camera icon on the mobile screen and allow the pilot to toggle on/off camera view.
- Manipulate Field of View (PC and Mobile) In hangar, tap on the menu icon on the top right. Tap "Settings". Tap "General". Scroll to "Field of View", and incrementally increase the slider. This will widen the view of the aerial map and this will maximize the lead angels that the missile reticle will travel.
- Manipulate Axis Cursor:Look Ahead:Max Angle (PC and Mobile) In hangar, tap on the menu icon on the top right. Tap "Settings". Tap "Advanced". Scroll to "Axis Cursor:Look Ahead:Max Angle", and increase the slider. This will make the camera look further into the direction of a turn, and maximize the lead angels that the missile reticle will travel.
- Utilize Free Look (PC Only) In hangar, tap on the menu icon on the top right. Tap "Settings". Tap "Bindings". Scroll to "Camera" and set bindings. With cursor aim, "Free Look Camera" will need to be assigned a binding. With controller, "Camera" angels can be in set bindings to a secondary thumb stick. (Mobile Only and Default) apply a second finger to the mobile screen to manipulate the camera view. This will maximize the lead angels that the missile reticle will travel.
Trivia
In real life, the J-10 Firebird had a controversial development. Allegedly, the J-10 Firebird was developed from technical information from the Israeli IAI Lavi project. The IAI Lavi (Hebrew; "lion") was a single-engine fourth-generation multirole jet fighter developed in Israel, by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), during the 1980s. The funding of the Lavi project was largely funded by United States Congress due to competition with American jets on the export market. The Lavi project resulted in three prototype aircraft. To save development costs and time, many off-the-shelf General Dynamics F-16 parts were used in the development of the Lavi. Early on in the development of the Lavi, China and South Africa were interested in importing aircraft. The Lavi project quickly built scrutiny. The Israeli population was split evenly on the need for further tax expenditures on home grown airframes, avionics, and weapons when importing fighters was more cost effective use of Israel's GDP. In the US, there was considerable opposition to the Lavi program from the Pentagon due to the fear that the heavy financial costs would impair other military capabilities, there were also questions about the financial soundness of the project, and that Lavi technologies may be shared with China and South Africa. The Lavi project was cancelled in August 1987. It 2008 it was claimed that Russian engineers leaked information that China had benefited from technical information from the Lavi project. China denies any connection with the Lavi project. No formal statements have been presented to the public.
Paints
The J-10 Firebird has 4 different paints available, including the default.
| Name | Unlock requirement | Rarity | Decal Support | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory Grey | Default | Common |
Yes | 
|
| Cobra Camo | Rare |
Yes | 
| |
| Dark Phoenix | Epic |
Yes | 
| |
| Firebird | Epic |
Yes | 
|
