알제리, J-01C와 KJ-500 조기경보통제기 도입 검토

[위종민]

알제리가 중국에서 J-10C와 KJ-500 AEW & C를 도입을 검토중이라고 하네요. 확정된다면 2027년부터 인도될 거라고 합니다. 

러시아 군수산업이 전쟁 손실보충에 집중하면서 알제리가 주문한 Su-57E 인도가 밀리고 있다고 합니다. 

알제리, 중국산 청두 J-10C 전투기와 산시 KJ-500 조기경보통제기 도입 예정

Israel Chukwuma

2026년 6월 29일 (2026년 7월 4일 업데이트)

알제리가 중국산 J-10C 전투기와 KJ-500 조기경보통제기 도입을 검토하며 공군 전력을 강화할 계획이다. (자료사진: Xiao Rui)

알제리는 중국산 첫 전투기인 **청두 J-10C 전투기**와 **산시 KJ-500 조기경보통제기(AEW&C)**를 도입하는 계약을 마무리하고 있으며, 인도는 2027년부터 시작될 것으로 알려졌다. 이 보도는 2026년 6월 중순 처음 알려졌으며, 계획이 그대로 진행될 경우 알제리는 두 기종을 모두 운용하는 최초의 아프리카 국가가 된다.

알제리 공군은 수십 년 동안 Su-30MKA 다목적 전투기, Su-24 공격기, MiG-29 계열 전투기 등 러시아제 전투기만으로 전력을 구성해 왔다. 알제리는 원래 이집트를 위해 제작됐다가 이집트의 계약이 무산된 이후 전용된 Su-35 제공전투기를 인도받았으며, 첫 기체는 2025년 3월 아인 베이다 공군기지에서 확인됐다. 이어 위장도색을 적용한 Su-34M 공격기가 도입됐고, 2026년 2월 공개된 영상에는 러시아 스텔스 전투기 수출형인 초기형 Su-57E가 움 엘 부아기 인근에서 비행하는 모습이 담긴 것으로 보인다.

기종 소개

중국에서 '맹룡(Vigorous Dragon)'으로 불리는 J-10C는 청두항공기공사가 중국 인민해방군 공군을 위해 개발한 단발 4.5세대 전투기다. 높은 기동성을 위한 델타익과 카나드 전방익을 채택했으며, 4중 디지털 비행제어(Fly-by-Wire) 시스템과 움직이는 부품 없이 레이더 반사면적을 줄이는 DSI(Diverterless Supersonic Inlet) 흡입구를 적용했다.

국산 WS-10B 터보팬 엔진을 장착해 약 마하 1.8~2.0의 속도를 낼 수 있으며, 전투행동반경은 구성에 따라 약 1,240~1,850km로 추정된다. 능동전자주사배열(AESA) 레이더와 장거리 공대공미사일 PL-15를 운용하며, 11개의 무장 장착점에 최대 7,000kg의 무장을 탑재할 수 있다.

파키스탄 공군의 J-10C는 2025년 5월 인도 공군과의 공중전에도 투입됐으며, 이는 이 기종이 실제 전투에서 사용된 최초의 사례로 알려졌다.

KJ-500은 산시 Y-9 수송기를 기반으로 개발된 3세대 공중조기경보통제기다. 회전식 레이돔 대신 동체 상부 레이돔 내부에 3개의 고정식 AESA 레이더 패널을 탑재해 빈틈 없는 360도 탐지가 가능하다.

중국 공군은 이 기체를 이용해 저고도 항공기와 순항미사일을 포함한 100개 이상의 표적을 약 470km 거리까지 추적하고 있으며, 이는 기존 기계식 레이더가 놓칠 수 있는 표적까지 탐지할 수 있는 능력이다. WJ-6C 터보프롭 엔진 4기를 장착해 최대 항속거리 5,700km, 8~12시간의 체공 능력을 갖추고 있으며, 개량형인 KJ-500A에는 공중급유 프로브가 추가돼 사실상 24시간 연속 감시가 가능하다.

실제 운용에서는 지상 레이더, 함정, 무인기에서 수집한 정보를 통합해 전투기에 전달하는 데이터 중계 허브 역할을 수행하며, 전투기는 자체 레이더를 켜 위치를 노출하지 않고도 표적을 공격할 수 있다.

러시아 방산업계는 현재 상당한 부담을 받고 있다. 생산라인은 우크라이나 전쟁에서 발생한 손실을 보충하는 데 집중되고 있으며, 2025년 2월 12대 규모로 계약한 것으로 알려진 알제리의 Su-57E 도입도 더디게 진행되고 있다. 러시아는 2023~2024년 동안 Su-57을 단 7대 생산했으며, 현재 실전 운용 중인 전체 기체 수도 약 19~25대 수준에 머물러 있다.

중국산 장비를 도입함으로써 알제리는 수십 년간 이어온 러시아와의 군사협력 관계를 유지하면서도 러시아의 추가적인 공급 지연 위험에 대비할 수 있게 된다.

중국산 항공기가 추가되더라도 러시아제 전투기를 대체하는 것은 아니다. 오히려 러시아 전력과 함께 운용되면서 공급원을 다변화해 단일 공급국이 알제리 공군 현대화의 속도를 좌우하지 못하도록 하는 역할을 하게 된다.

한편 이집트도 J-10C 도입을 논의하거나 일부 계약을 체결했다는 보도가 있었지만, 중국 정부는 그 가운데 일부 내용을 공식적으로 부인했다. 또한 사우디아라비아 역시 J-10C에 관심을 보인 것으로 알려졌다.

Algeria set to acquire Chinese Chengdu J-10C fighter jets and Shaanxi KJ-500 early warning aircraft - Military Africa

Algeria set to acquire Chinese Chengdu J-10C fighter jets and Shaanxi KJ-500 early warning aircraft

 by Israel Chukwuma

 June 29, 2026 - Updated on July 4, 2026

in Aerospace

Reading Time: 3 mins read

Algeria is considering purchasing Chinese J-10C fighter jets and KJ-500 early warning aircraft to upgrade its air capabilities.(File photo by Xiao Rui)

Algeria is finalizing an agreement to take its first Chinese combat aircraft, the Chengdu J-10C fighter jets, and the Shaanxi KJ-500 early warning aircraft, with deliveries reportedly starting in 2027. The report circulated in mid-June 2026, Algeria would become the first African state to fly both types if this holds up.

The Algerian Air Force has run an all-Russian combat fleet for decades, including Su-30MKA multirole fighters, Su-24 strike jets, and MiG-29 variants. Algeria has taken delivery of Su-35 air superiority fighters, originally built for Egypt and diverted after Cairo’s order fell through, with the first aircraft spotted at Ain Beida air base in March 2025. Su-34M strike jets in camouflage scheme followed, and a video from February 2026 appears to show an early Su-57E, the export version of Russia’s stealth fighter, flying near Oum El Bouaghi.

THE AIRCRAFTS

The J-10C, known in China as the “Vigorous Dragon,” is a single-engine, 4.5-generation fighter built by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. It uses a delta wing with canard foreplanes for high agility, a quadruplex fly-by-wire control system, and a diverterless supersonic inlet that trims its radar signature without moving parts. A domestic WS-10B turbofan pushes it to roughly Mach 1.8 to 2.0, with a combat range estimated between 1,240 km and 1,850 km depending on configuration. It carries an active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and the PL-15 long-range air-to-air missile, and spreads its weapons load up to 7,000 kg across 11 hardpoints. Pakistani J-10Cs were also involved in air-to-air engagements against the Indian Air Force in May 2025, the type’s first reported use in actual combat.

The KJ-500 is a third-generation airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft built on the Shaanxi Y-9 transport airframe. Rather than a rotating dome, it carries 3 fixed AESA radar panels in a dorsal radome that together give it 360-degree coverage with no gaps to refresh. China’s air force uses it to track more than 100 targets out to roughly 470 km, including low-flying aircraft and cruise missiles that older mechanically scanned radars can miss. 4 WJ-6C turboprop engines give it a range of 5,700 km and 8 to 12 hours of endurance; the upgraded KJ-500A adds a refueling probe for round-the-clock coverage. In practice, the aircraft acts as a relay hub, pulling in data from ground radars, ships, and drones and feeding it to fighters so they can fire on a target without using their own radar and giving away their position.

Russia’s defence industry is under real strain. Production lines are absorbing losses from the war in Ukraine, and Algeria’s own Su-57E order, reportedly signed in February 2025 for a dozen aircraft, has moved slowly; Russia built only 7 Su-57s between 2023 and 2024, and its total operational fleet sits at roughly 19 to 25 aircraft. Buying Chinese hardware lets Algiers hedge against further delays without abandoning a decades-old Russian relationship that still supplies the bulk of its air force.

Adding Chinese aircraft to that lineup would not replace the Russian jets. It would sit alongside them, giving Algiers a second supplier so that a single source cannot dictate the pace of its modernization.

Meanwhile, Egypt has reportedly discussed and at points signed for J-10C purchases of its own, though Beijing has publicly denied some of those reports, and interest has also surfaced in Saudi Arabia.