Pakistan to get 16 more J-10s fighter jets from China, total fleet to reach 36: Pentagon report

New Delhi: China has supplied 20 fourth generation J-10C fighter jets to Pakistan in the last five years and will supply another 16 of them as per an agreement between the two nations, according to Pentagon’s latest report on the military and security developments involving China.

The delivery of J-10C combat jets is Beijing's only export of these fighter aircraft, the report says, noting that China also considers setting up bases in Pakistan and Bangladesh along with a few other countries in Africa and Asia as the People’s Liberation Army looks at additional military facilities to support air and naval projections.

“China has likely also considered basing in Angola, Bangladesh, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, and Vanuatu,” said the report placed before the US Congress.

The PLA, the Pentagon says, is interested in military access along the sea lines of communication in the Malacca Strait, the Strait of Hormuz, and other areas in Africa and the Middle East. Earlier this year, Gabon confirmed China’s interest in a base in the Gulf of Guinea.

Islamabad announced buying 25 J-10C fighter jets from Beijing with an option of 11 more in Dec 2021 – nearly five years after India inked a deal with France to buy 36 Rafale jets. During Operation Sindoor, J-10C jets were used by the Pakistan Air Force.

The report also said China supplied strike-capable Caihong and Wing Loong UAV and four frigates to Pakistan. While delivery of the Yuan class submarine to Pakistan is yet to commence, the first one of the eight under-water boats is likely to be delivered to Islamabad in 2026.

According to the Beijing-Islamabad deal, Pakistan Navy is buying eight such submarines from China with technology transfer to modernise its submarine fleet. While four of them would come from China, the rest would be built in Karachi.

All of these boats will have air independent propulsion technology that will allow them to stay under water for a long time.

The Pentagon report also said China had developed the first new drone, the Feyi, that can be launched by and return to a submarine, and repeatedly transit between the sea and air for reconnaissance, surveillance, and strike missions.

On space cooperation, the report said that throughout 2024, China increased its space cooperation outreach worldwide, to boost its image as a collaborative space power while "undermining US global leadership”, particularly with developing nations.

As of December 2024, China signed nearly 200 intergovernmental space cooperation agreements with more than 50 countries including Pakistan covering earth observation, deep space exploration, satellite development, lunar exploration, and manned spaceflight.