FuturePAF
THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
You are right that it is a massive missile, but it doesn’t mean a smaller derivative can’t be developed and carried.Come on, the YJ-12 is a monster of a missile much too large and heavy! The J-10 can never ever carry this one ... the missile in the images is a YJ-91 ARM.
View attachment 10909
The J-10 can carry 1600 liter fuel tanks on each wing. 1600 liters or ~422 gallons of jet fuel weights about 1277 kg of weight each.
The YJ-12 is said to be based on the KH-31; a 600 kg missile. And if that were true, then it should be easily carried, but based on PLA sources that it’s warhead alone is 500 kg, it not likely the missile only weighs 600 kg.
MA-31 - Wikipedia
Mass About 2.500 kg
But this includes the booster. Perhaps dropping the booster and developing the missile further, reducing the size of the warhead, the weight can be reduce to around 1500 kg.
Perhaps then a YJ-12 variant, with the same speed, maybe not as much range or warhead size, can be carried by the J-10. To compensate for the loss of the fuel tanks the J-10 may need CFTs, at least for the Anti-shipping role.












