Unofficial images circulating on social media suggest that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is just days away from receiving the first batch of Chengdu J-10C semi-stealth 4.5-gen advanced multirole fighter jets from China.
The pictures shared by Chinese plane spotters show at least two fighters with the PAF markings—202-102 and 22-106— undergoing test flights. They seem to have been captured at the airbase of Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, a Chinese aerospace conglomerate that designs and manufactures combat aircraft.
Here are the images.
It is interesting to note here that the fighters appear to be powered by the Chinese-made WS-10B Taihang engine instead of the Russian AL-31F engine used to power the previous versions— J-10A and J-10B— of the fighters.
While this confirms that Pakistan is getting the latest version of the fighter plane, it also means that China will deliver the first batch of J-10Cs without any approval from Russia.
Last year in December, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed had revealed that 25 J-10C fighter jets of PAF would perform a fly-over on the Pakistan Day Parade on 23 March 2022.
In July last year, it was initially reported that Pakistan would get a total of 36 J-10C fighter jets from China. This means the remaining jets will be delivered in the second batch.
Many aspects of the J-10C mid-sized fighter jet, including the size, aerodynamic characteristics, aviation, weapon systems, and overall combat capability are comparable to the Rafale fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
This is why the Interior Minister had asserted that the J-10C fighter jets of PAF would counter the Rafale fighter jets of India.
During the “Shaheen-IX” exercise jointly held by Pakistan and China last year, Pakistani pilots had also gained invaluable experience by using Chinese J-10C and J-11B fighter jets to simulate the Indian Rafale and Su-30 fighter jets.
Please close your JF17 project as afterall Pakistan has to buy J10 C and other jets from other countries. Pakistan can never sell JF17 when other countries will see that even we are buying J10 from other countries because of JF17 program limitations.
You should not worry about our JF17 program. IA Block3 will also be desplayed on 23 March. Think about scrap Tejas
these are fake images and Shaikh Rasheed usual lying