The J-10A（歼-10A型歼击机), officially the K/AJJ10A, known by its nickname "Vigorous Dragon 猛龙" or by its NATO codename "Firebird", is the new generation single-seater multirole fighter for PLAAF since 2006 as the replacement of previous fleets of J-6 to J-8I series. Foreseeing the limitations of 2nd generation interceptors in the aerial combats of 1980s, engineers of Chengdu Aircraft Corporation has been working on a new generation jet fighter with some designs deemed innovative to Mainland China in 1960s all the way to 1978; although this program dubbed "J-9" bit the dust, one of its designs, J-9-VI series, which were known by their iconic canard design, were retained for further development in near future. By 1982, Song Wencong (宋文骢) brought in the J-9-VI aerodynamic model and impressed the officials during the hearing for the development of new interceptor; after the aerodynamic issues and further refinement on the J-9-VI design, the new aircraft would soon be named Project No. 10 (十号工程) and commence in 1986. This also brought in a major issue for the program: extremely high percentage of new components with very low compatibility to any previous interceptors, especially the digital FBW control which wasn't even been introduced to Mainland China at all; after addressing on the manufacturing difficulties and programmed for any possibility of scenarios for the FBW system, the J-10 rolled of the production line in 1997 and soared to the skies on March 23rd, 1998. With flight tests conducted successfully without any crashes and further refinements made to the design, J-10 delivered its lead-in series to PLAAF on March 2003 was certified for commission in 2004; by 2006, the new fighter was officially introduced in the year's national defense white paper.

It was introduced in Update "Dance of Dragons" as the end-on-the-line fighter for Chinese tech tree, J-10A brought in many much-appreciated features as an all-in-one multirole fighter which was lacking for the tech-tree; now featuring a Su-27 equivalent of BVR AAMs and selections of guided air-to-ground munitions which was once only available on JH-7A, J-10A can become a very formidable foe in battle with excellent maneuverability and impressive payload for its size.