Key Points and Summary on China’s J-10CE Fighter – The Chinese-made J-10CE fighter jet is being marketed as a capable and affordable alternative to Western and Russian aircraft, a pitch bolstered by its recent combat success.
-In May, the Pakistan Air Force reportedly used the J-10CE, armed with Chinese PL-15 long-range missiles, to shoot down multiple Indian Air Force Rafale jets.
-While details of the engagement remain murky, the event drew significant international attention.
-China is now actively promoting the J-10CE on the export market, free from the political strings often attached to US arms sales, though it has yet to secure a new major buyer after a potential deal with Colombia fell through.
Meet the J-10CE Fighter from China
China’s J-10CE is the export variant of the J-10 base model jet, a Chinese-designed fighter developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. A highly maneuverable platform that relies on a relaxed-stability design and canards along the fuselage, China touts the jet as a fourth-generation+ aircraft built to compete with the likes of the American F-16 or Russia’s MiG-29 fighters. Despite the jet lacking the stealth features commonly found in other fifth-generation aircraft, such as radar-absorbent coatings and fuselage contouring, it plays an essential role in the Chinese aerospace industry.
Domestically, the J-10 provided China with valuable insight and experience in designing and building a competitive fourth-generation, potentially fourth-generation-plus, aircraft. For foreign buyers abroad, the J-10CE, the export variant of the J-10, offers a potential pathway to fielding a relatively capable and affordable jet fighter. Perhaps most importantly, however, China’s J-10 offers an alternative to advanced but difficult-to-access Western fighters, as well as a replacement for dated Soviet-era or now scarce Russian aerospace options.
India-Pakistan Clashes
The platform has enjoyed only moderate success on the international export market, though its performance in Pakistani hands against the Indian Air Force recently drew scrutiny. The jet is credited with several kills against IAF Rafale jets, which were imported from France.
“The fact that a couple of U.S. officials have come out and said it appears to have been a J-10 that was involved in the shootdown of the Rafale is interesting,” Justin Bronk, a Senior Research Fellow with the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank, said.
“That makes it fairly likely that we’re looking at a shootdown, but it is worth emphasizing that at least two PL-15s [a Chinese air-to-air missile] were found in bits of India, where we know they were firing, doesn’t mean the Rafale was shot down for sure. The fact that the engine and the tail seem to be a little distance apart does support the idea that it didn’t just pancake. Still, it is possible, for example, that they ran out of fuel, having spent too much time in afterburner and at low level, trying to evade shots, and had to eject due to fuel starvation on the way back to base. Or friendly fire, or a long-range HQ-9 shot — although that’s a bit less likely, I suspect.”
Following the hostilities, shares of France’s Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the Rafale aerospace firm, sank, while those of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group surged. Proclamations of China’s aerospace supremacy over Western equivalents were rampant. However, what exactly happened over the Indian and Pakistani skies—which munitions were used and under what circumstances—remains somewhat nebulous. However, the jets are tentatively credited with shooting down up to five Indian Air Force Rafales.
Import-Export
Rumors have circulated that Colombia finalized a deal for the Chinese fighters, although Colombian President Gustavo Petro has vehemently rejected this assertion. “I never heard a Chinese proposal regarding military matters,” the president wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Lies are being told here. As the government has already publicly stated, new Gripen aircraft of Swedish origin will be purchased.”
Earlier this year, however, China made a bid to replace Colombia’s aging Kfir fighter jets, an Israeli-designed variant of the Mirage 5, with two dozen of their J-10CE jets, part of Beijing’s overtures, both economic and military, to wider parts of the Latin American region.
The J-10CE made its appearance at the Paris Air Show, recently held in France. “I recall that the J-10CE made its Paris Air Show debut back in 2019 and has since been exhibited at multiple renowned international defense expos in recent years,” Zhu Qian, deputy head of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, who had a role in the J-10’s development, said. “This aircraft has consistently been one of AVIC’s flagship products for international showcases.”
There is speculation that the Indonesian Air Force, as well as the Bangladeshi Air Force, are interested in acquiring the J-10CE jet; however, reports to that effect are, for now, somewhat speculative.
What’s Next for J-10CE Fighter?
Speculation aside, what is certain is that the Chinese fighter does offer a fairly capable option to countries interested in expanding their fighter presence on a budget. Free from geopolitical considerations inherent in acquiring Western or Russian fighters, this option could prove attractive in the future.
However, with fifth-generation stealth aircraft now dominating the skies and sixth-generation aircraft on the horizon, the J-10’s attractiveness may wane.
The J-10 was not expressly designed to go head-to-head against top-of-the-line Western aircraft, however. For countries that do not anticipate facing an opponent with a robust stealth capability, the J-10CE may prove to be an attractive option.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
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