In a game-changing proposition, China is reportedly in talks with Pakistan for Islamabad to procure 40 advanced stealth fighter jets from Beijing. The J-35A is China’s most advanced military aircraft.
If the deal is finalised, Pakistan will be the first and only country globally to have a squadron of the stealth J-35A multi-role fighter jets outside of China. It will also mark the first export of China’s most advanced military aircraft by Beijing.
The J-35A is China’s second fifth-generation stealth fighter jet. After United States, China is the only other country in the world to have two 5th-gen military aircraft. Pakistan is looking to replace its ageing fleet of US-made F-16s and the French Mirage fighters.
As per a report in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, which further quotes the Pakistani media, China will deliver all 40 stealth fighter jest in less than two years. China’s entire defence industry is already set up for mass production as it does not depend on any other country for any part of the aircraft.
The report also states that Pakistan’s Air Force has already approved the purchase of these jets. Though there is no confirmation from Beijing, should such a deal materialise, it will provide Pakistan a massive boost to its air defence and has the potential to tilt the regional dynamic as Islamabad will acquire stealth technology.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE CHINESE J-35A STEALTH AIRCRAFT
The Shenyang J-35A stealth fighter is a twin-engine, single-seater, supersonic, air-superiority, multi-role fighter jet that can carry out missions on land and at sea. The J-35A is the second fifth-generation stealth fighter China has developed after the J-20.
The J-35A’s design is similar to the US Lockheed Martin F-35, the only difference is that the former is twin-engine and the latter has a single engine. China is known for copying the design of several US aircraft – The J-20 and the US F-22 Raptor are very similar in design except for canards that are present in J-20. The Chengdu J-10, also known as the “Vigorous Dragon”, is yet another Chinese aircraft which seems to be a copy of the US F-16 fighter jet.
US F-22 Raptor (Left), China J-20 (Right)
According to a report by the Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, “J-35A functions within both stealth and counter-stealth combat frameworks. Its mission focuses on gaining and maintaining air superiority, eliminating hostile fourth/fifth generation fighter jets and ground/surface air defence forces, as well as intercepting aerial hostile targets including fighters, bombers and cruise missiles.” The article was published the day China unveiled the jet for the first time last month.
China plans to induct the aircraft into the Air Force and the Navy, exactly the way the F-35 is used by the United States, having three variants – The F-35A for the Air Force, F-35B for the Marine Corps and F-35C for the US Navy.
US F-35 Lighting carrying out formation flying
PAKISTAN’S ECONOMIC CRISIS
Despite a severe economic crisis in the country, Pakistan, which is surviving on bailout packages by the IMF and World Bank, is reportedly going ahead with the deal. It is not clear though, how such a massive deal will get financed. According to defence experts, it won’t come as a surprise should China decide to extend another loan which Pakistan won’t able able to pay back.
Pakistan has already accumulated so much debt from Beijing that it is not financially possible for Islamabad to pay it back. Many experts believe that at some point Pakistan will have to sell national assets and maybe even parts of the country to be able to settle the debt.
Though the buzz is ripe in Islamabad, Beijing has not confirmed the sale of its stealth fighter jet in any official communication. Neither has it mentioned it in the passing.
When the J-35A stealth fighter was first displayed publicly by China at the annual air show at Zhuhai city in November, top Pakistan Air Force officials visited the exhibition and were seen holding talks with senior Chinese officials.
According the report in the South China Morning Post, Pakistan Air Force Chief Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu said in January that “the foundation for acquiring the J-31 stealth fighter aircraft has already been laid.” The J-31 is considered the land version of the J-35A, which was originally believed to be a naval aircraft, but was later launched as a multi-role fighter jet.
Despite Pakistan’s inability to pay back, China has over time steadily increased its military supply to Islamabad by modernising all three branches of the Pakistani military, spending several billion dollars in the country’s defence expenditure.
China has also jointly developed and operates the J-17 Thunder fighter jet with Pakistan. For its navy, China has already delivered four advanced naval frigates to Pakistan.
MEETING BETWEEN CHINA AND PAKISTAN OVER THE REPORTED DEAL
Top Chinese Army General Zhang Youxia visited Pakistan in November shortly after unveiling the J-35A stealth aircraft, during which he held closed-door talks with Pakistan’s Army chief Gen Asim Munir.
Gen Zhang is the Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission or CMC, which is the overall command of the Chinese military. President Xi Jinping heads the commission, and is briefed directly about such meetings.
After the meeting, the Inter-Services Public Relations or ISPR, the media wing of the Pakistani armed forces issued a statement which said the meeting between the two focused on “matters of mutual interest, regional security dynamics, measures for regional stability, and enhancing bilateral defence cooperation”.
PAKISTAN’S SOVEREIGNTY UNDER THREAT?
According to the Pakistani media, during these recent meetings, China has been increasing pressure on Islamabad to allow Beijing’s security firms and agencies to send boots on ground in Pakistan.
China reportedly intends on sending an initial lot of more than 20,000 soldiers and security personnel to be deployed at various locations along the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC, which it is constructing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and in the turbulent region of Balochistan.
As per Pakistani media reports, Islamabad says it has deployed over 30,000 dedicated military and para-military personnel just to protect Chinese workers working on project pertaining to the so-called CPEC.
The reports further state that so far, Pakistan has somehow been resisting Beijing’s pressure to deploy Chinese troops across Pakistan over sovereignty concerns.