Pakistan Air Force to Field Chinese J-35 Fifth Generation Fighters Before 2027 – Reports

<p >The Pakistani government has been reported by local media outlets to have approved the acquisition of Chinese J-35 fifth-generation fighter aircraft, with the aircraft  scheduled to enter service within 24 months. This follows the <a href=" >announcement</a> in January by head of the Pakistan Air Force Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Sidh that the country was preparing to place an order for Chinese fifth generation fighters. The announcement came 22 months after Pakistan<a href=" > received its first</a> J-10C fighters from China, which are currently considered to be by far the most capable in its fleet, and a year after the lighter <a href=" >JF-17 Block III</a>, which has similarly advanced avionics and weaponry, began to enter service. The J-35 is a fighter class developed for export based on the FC-31 design, with China’s first <a href=" >carrier based fifth generation fighter</a>, the designation of which remain unknown, also being based on the FC-31. Both are thought to integrate world leading avionics comparable to those of the<a href=" > J-20 fighter </a>currently serving in China’s air force, which began deliveries in 2016, although as smaller aircraft they are expected to carry smaller radars and be restricted to shorter ranges than the J-20. </p><p ><img src=" title="J-35 Fighter"></p><p >China is one of just two countries to field full regiments of<a href="> indigenous fifth generation fighters</a>, alongside the United States, with the J-35’s export prospects benefitting from the <a href=" prestige</a> which the J-20 program has given the Chinese fighter aviation industry. The J-35 was <a href=" unveiled</a> in November 2024, and is notably a much larger aircraft than any currently in the Pakistani fleet, with operational costs expected to be several times as high as those of the JF-17 and Mirage III which form the backbone of the Pakistani fleet. Accommodating the aircraft’s high operational costs is expected to require the Pakistan Air Force to significant reduce the number of fighters currently in service, potentially retiring two or more Mirage III squadrons to accommodate the operationalisation of a single smaller squadron of J-35s. </p><p ><img src=" ></p><p ></p><p >The J-35’s’ combat potential is expected to be in a league of its own in South Asia and nearby Central Asia, and in the nearby Middle East will be rivalled in sophistication only by the Israeli Air Force’s U.S.-supplied F-35A fighters. Pakistani acquisitions may stimulate neighbouring India to accelerate plans to acquire Russian Su-57 fifth generation fighters, which has long been under consideration. Indian officials have previously stated that they were waiting to assess the Su-57’s performance in Russian service before proceeding with acquisitions, with the fighter class’ <a href=" target="_blank">intensive combat testing</a> in a variety of roles in the Ukrainian theatre considered likely to have inspired greater confidence. Discussions on a license production deal for the Su-57 in India were <a href=" >reported to be underway</a> in February 2023. Pakistan’s experience operating the J-35 has the potential to stimulate greater foreign demand for the aircraft, with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Algeria considered to be leading potential clients for the aircraft. </p>