On March 11, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) put the first six of 25 and later perhaps 36 Chengdu J-10C multi-role fighters into service at the Minhas base. This is also the first export of the single-engine Chinese design. The grand ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu.
In his speech, PM Khan referred to the Indian Air Force’s airstrike on an alleged terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan in February 2019, saying the J-10s would strengthen the PAF’s capabilities against such attacks and in the controversial air battles that followed at the time. Khan: “The entire nation has the confidence that its armed forces are fully capable of defending the motherland. Pakistan’s response after the Balakot attack sent a clear message to the world that our country is capable of defending itself well even in the air.” With regard to the eternal rival India, the Pakistani air chief said: “We do not want to participate in an arms race, but will continue to improve our ability to ensure national security and regional stability, also with the help of our Chinese partners.”
The ceremony took place 54 years to the day after the arrival of the first French Dassault Mirage III/5 of the PAF (since then supplemented by Mirages from various countries), whose replacement by the J-10CE (-E for export version) has thus begun at the 15th “Cobras” Squadron. Islamabad enjoys – what the India, which has just imported 36 Dassault Rafále always sees as encirclement – enjoys privileged status as Beijing’s closest ally in military and industrial-economic terms. Nevertheless, it seems difficult to believe that the six aircraft that flew over the Himalayas on March 4 (all single-seaters with the tactical numbers 22-101 to 22-106) are completely new builds, given that the contract was not signed until June 25, 2021. This is even less likely to be the case for the 25 aircraft scheduled to fly over the capital on the national holiday on March 23.
Minhas is – obviously for a new type – the base near Kamra, where the Pakistani production and overhaul facility PAC-Kamra is also located. The Pakistani/Chinese fighter aircraft JF-17 Thunder with KLJ-7A radar, which was developed jointly with Chengdu, is also being built there in what is now the third construction lot (eleven so far). Over 130 Block I and II aircraft are flying in Pakistan – Myanmar (Burma) and Nigeria are the first export customers. Negotiations are currently underway with Argentina, among others. The Chinese fighter jet J-10 (“Mighty Dragon”, NATO nickname “Firebird”), which is rumored to be strongly reminiscent of the unbuilt Israeli IAI-Lavi, has been in service with the Chinese Air Force since 2004 with a good 500 units (including 56 two-seater J-10Bs), and is now in its second generation in the PAF. The latter can be recognized by its new supersonic-optimized forward chin air intake and is equipped with active-swiveling AESA radar and an infrared target tracking sensor in front of the cockpit. It is also equipped with an air refueling probe. Powered by the Chinese Shenyang WS-10B turbofan engine with 14,000 Kp (or 137 Kn) afterburner thrust, its armament includes the PL-10 and PL-15E air-to-air missiles. The latter is the export version of a long-range weapon with active radar guidance for targets above the visual horizon (BVR) up to 145 kilometers. A number of precision-guided bombs and missiles as well as the YJ-83K and YJ-91 anti-radar missiles are in use in China, but it is not yet known whether this will also be the case for the ally Pakistan.
