I’ve seen some discussion about the J-16’s weight in War Thunder, so I decided to check the publicly available data instead of just relying on estimates from players.
The number I keep finding is 17,700 kg (17.7 tons) for the J-16’s empty weight.
The strongest source I found is a 2015 article hosted by Xinhua. The article specifically discussing the J-16 states:
“The J-16’s empty weight is 17.7 tons, and its maximum takeoff weight is 35 tons.”
The article is credited to Sina Military, but it is hosted on Xinhua’s website:
There are also English-language aviation sources giving exactly the same figure.
For example, The Aviationist lists:
Empty weight: 17,700 kg
Maximum takeoff weight: 35,000 kg
What makes this more interesting is that 17,700 kg is also the figure used in technical discussions on the official War Thunder forum .
For example, this J-11/J-16/J-15 performance discussion lists the J-16 at 17,700 kg empty weight and 35,000 kg maximum takeoff weight :
Another J-16 discussion on the official forum also uses 17,700 kg :
So 17.7 tons doesn’t really look like a random number made up by players. We have the same figure appearing in Chinese-language reporting, an English-language aviation publication, and technical discussions on the official War Thunder forum.
Now compare that with the current in-game J-16.
The J-16 in War Thunder has a basic/empty weight of about 18,300 kg .
That is:
18,300 − 17,700 = 600 kg
So the in-game value is about 600 kg heavier.
I’m not claiming that this automatically proves the War Thunder flight model is wrong, because the game’s “basic weight” may not use exactly the same definition as the real aircraft’s “empty weight”. There could be differences in how things like permanently installed equipment, pilot, ammunition, fluids, or other fixed masses are handled.
My point is simply that 17,700 kg is the best-supported publicly available figure I can find for the J-16’s empty weight.
Therefore, if the 18,300 kg value in War Thunder is intended to represent the real aircraft’s empty/basic weight, I think it would be reasonable to ask Gaijin to review it.
There are some online sources giving higher numbers, including figures around 18.7 tons, but those sources are less consistent. The 17.7-ton figure is the one that repeatedly appears across multiple references.
Unless there is a stronger primary source showing that the J-16’s actual empty weight is significantly higher, 17.7 tons seems to be the more defensible figure based on the publicly available evidence.