BEIJING: Pakistan plans to procure 40 jets of advanced Chinese stealth fighter J-35, which, if materialised, will mark the first export of China’s latest jet, according to a media report on Monday.
The sale would mark Beijing’s first export of fifth-generation jets to a foreign ally and is expected to recalibrate regional dynamics, particularly in relation to Pakistan’s rival India, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
The Post quoted Pakistan media reports stating that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had approved the purchase of 40 aircraft, expected to be delivered within two years, to replace its ageing fleet of American F-16s and French Mirage fighters.
The acquisition of new aircraft was pursued despite the serious economic crisis faced by Pakistan.
There is no official confirmation in Beijing or mention of such a deal in the official media here, though speculation is rife since the J-35, primarily regarded as a jet fighter meant for Chinese aircraft carriers, was exhibited at the prestigious annual air show at Zhuhai city last month attended by top PAF officials.
The land-based version of J-35 was called J-31, according to previous reports. China is currently the only country in the region to have developed stealth aircraft.
PAF 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,” according to the Post report.
All weather allies, China and Pakistan, shared a deep military relationship shrouded in secrecy. Beijing has been helping the modernisation of all three wings of the Pakistan military as it modernised its own armed forces with billions of dollars of defence expenditure. China has helped Pakistan to jointly develop and operate the J-17 Thunder fighter jet, the mainstay of the PAF.
China has delivered four advanced naval frigates to the Pakistan Navy in the last few years to enable it to play a bigger role along with its navy in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
The reports of Pakistan’s plans to acquire China’s latest fighter jets come in the backdrop of the visit of top PLA General Zhang Youxia to Pakistan last month, during which he held one-on-one talks with Pakistan’s Army chief Gen Asim Munir.
Gen Zhang is Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall command of the Chinese military headed by President Xi Jinping.