The Austrian Armed Forces is purchasing new M-346FA jet trainers from the Italian manufacturer Leonardo. In the second part of our long story on the history of the advanced jet trainer we looked at Russia’s most modern jet trainer, the Yak-130. Now we turn our attention to the product of a Russian-Chinese co-production, the Hongdu JL-10/L-15 Falcon.
As known from part onethe partnership between Yakowlew and Aermacchi came to an end in 2000. Contacts between the Yakovlev design bureau or its employees and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) must have taken place possibly even before this partnership ended, but at the latest shortly afterwards in 2000. As already mentioned, money was extremely scarce in Russia. In China, the Nanchang-based Chinese aircraft industry group Hongdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (HAIC) began work on an advanced jet trainer for the People’s Liberation Army in 2000.
As early as September 2001, one year after the separation, a model was exhibited at the ninth Chinese air show in Beijing. It looks suspiciously similar to the Yak/AEM-130 design. Mr. Zhang Hong is named as the chief designer.
The entire industry, including Russian and Chinese aviation journalists, therefore assumes that the Yakovlev design office provided support. The most significant difference to the Yak/AEM-130 design is the layout with two afterburner engines.
The first prototype was completed in September 2005 and made its maiden flight in March 2006. The second prototype made its maiden flight in May 2008 and was powered by two Russian ZMKB-Progress (Lotarev) DV-2 engines. The third model was equipped with an improved version, the DV-2F, which has afterburners. It first flew in 2015, with the later L-15 versions using the Ukrainian Ivchenko-Progress AI-222K-25F turbojet engines with afterburner. The aircraft was equipped with a modern, quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire (FBW) control system and a glass cockpit.
Development was completed in 2010 and Hongdu, or China, ordered 250 AI-222-25 engines from Ukraine. In 2017, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party announced that the engines for the L-15 would be assembled in China. However, the Ukrainian company Motor Sich received another order for AI-322 engines for the JL-10/L-15 Falcon in early 2021.
Line-up of factory fresh JL_10 for the PLAAF and L-15Z for Zambia … no. 1004, 1005 and 1006 spotted. pic.twitter.com/MTamD8owmF
– @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) October 16, 2016
The Hongdu L-15 was exhibited at the Dubai Air Show in November 2009 to promote the aircraft to the potential market in the Middle East and Africa.
In 2014, Zambia procured six aircraft for a reported 130 million euros at the time. The largest eport customer to date is the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They ordered twelve aircraft with options for 36 more in 2023.
#JustIn: China has signed a contract with the UAE to export L15 advanced trainer jets: Aviation Industry Corporation of China pic.twitter.com/U4Hyq2aVke
– Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 21, 2023
In December 2024, it was announced that the Royal Moroccan Air Force was considering purchasing the L-15 Falcon to replace its Alpha Jets from the 1970s.
The air force of the People’s Liberation Army of the People’s Republic of China operates the aircraft under the designation Hongdu JL-15. Chinese bloggers have identified eleven different variants of the LJ-10/L-15 up to 2019.
Without afterburner the variants L-15AJT (2006), L-15Z AFT (2016, Zambia) and L-15 AW (armed). With afterburner L-15LIFT (2010) and L-15B (2017, with PESA radar – Passive Electronically Scanned Array). There are also the LJ-10 (2013), LJ-10H (2017), LJ-10A (2018), LJ-10B and LJ-10J (2019) versions. Whether these designations also correspond to the official nomenclature is unclear.
CATIC is showing off a Hongdu L-15A advanced jet trainer/light attack aircraft here at #DubaiAirShow. One in static with a massive selection of weapons etc. Another flew in the flying display. Nice performance. pic.twitter.com/6xbNGWoman
– Alan Warnes (@warnesyworld) November 14, 2021
The exact number is also unknown. According to “Flight International”, however, as of 2024 there are only two aircraft in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and a further twelve in the People’s Liberation Army Navy. The International Institute for Strategic Studies, on the other hand, puts the number of LJ-10s in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force at 50 (as of 2023).
The JL-10 is the planned naval version for training on aircraft carriers equipped with CATOBAR (catapult take-off and grapple landing). China began sea trials of the first sea trials of the first CATOBAR aircraft carrier, the Type 003 “Fujian”.
The Hongdu L-15 is the most powerful offshoot of the Yak-130D development and can climb at a speed of 150 meters per second. Its maximum speed is 1,715 km/h. The range and combat radius of the aircraft are 3,100 kilometers and 550 kilometers respectively. The service ceiling of the aircraft is 16,000 meters. The maximum dwell time is two hours, the aircraft weighs around 4,960 kilograms and its maximum take-off weight is around 9,500 kilograms. A maximum angle of attack of 30 degrees is possible.
As already mentioned, the United Arab Emirates has ordered twelve of these aircraft (plus an option for 36 more) and Zambia six. There is one more export customer: Cameroon has ordered two L-15s.
In the fourth part of our major thematic focus we will continue with the development of the M-346A Master.
Here for more army news and here for more news about Leonardo.
