China Boosts Pakistan's Airpower With 40 J-35A Stealth Fighters, AWACS And HQ-19 Missiles

New Delhi: In the aftermath of India and Pakistan conflict which lasted for 4 days, China has offered to provide a comprehensive military packages to its all-weather ally Pakistan that include 40 J-35A fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft -- Gyrfalcon, KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) systems and HQ-19 long-range air defence systems.

This would be the first export order of Chinese fifth-generation J-35A fighters to any country. The export version of J-35A fighter jets is known as FC-31.

Considering it's Pakistan, take it with bagful of salt JF-35, that too 40. Should ring the alarm bells twitter/vQivv40IeR

- औरंगज़ेब 2.0 🇮🇳 (@__phoenix_fire_) June 6, 2025

Pakistan government's post on fighters from China

In a post on X, the Pakistan government has claimed:“Under the presidency of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan has achieved several great diplomatic achievements, including the offer of fifth-generation fighters, KJ-500 AWACS, HQ-19 defence systems from China.”

It also claimed that the China has agreed for deferring USD 3.7 billion in debt and provide training to 1 lakh Pakistanis in artificial intelligence and IT with the support of Huawei.

As per the reports, Pakistan will receive the first batch of 12 fighters by August this year. Notably, the Pakistani pilots are currently undergoing training to fly the aircraft in China.

These fighters will be fitted with China's PL-17 air-to-air missile (AAM) systems. It has a range of about 400 km.

Pakistan first buyer of China's fifth-gen J-35A stealth jets

Pakistan will be the first country to have the fifth generation fighter jets in the South Asia region. India, currently, has 4.5 generation Rafale fighters, procured from France in a readymade condition with India-specific systems.“This proposal reflects the growing strategic cooperation between the two allies and marks a substantial boost to Pakistan's future airpower and integrated air defense capabilities,” an expert believed.

It should also be noted that Pakistan Air Force received the first delivery of six J-10CE fighter jets in 2022. Currently, Pakistan operates with 36 J-10CE fighter aircraft.

Developed by China's Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the FC-31 or J-35A fighter jet is a single-seat, twin-engine, medium-sized fifth-generation fighter. It has advanced stealth capabilities, including a low-observable design with forward-swept intake ramps, Diverterless Supersonic Inlet (DSI) bumps, and composite materials to evade L-band and Ku-band radars.

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