SINGAPORE, Feb 4 – China’s 4.5-generation fighter the J-10C appeared at the Singapore Airshow this week amid a drive by Beijing to boost arms sales to Southeast Asia.
The model has gained increasing global prominence following reports last May that it had been used by the Pakistan Air Force to shoot down at least one French-made Rafale fighter operated by India during a brief border conflict.
The seven J-10C jets taking part in the Singapore Airshow arrived last Wednesday, accompanied by a Y-20A refuelling tanker.
Six of the jets later took part in an aerobatic display outside the Changi Exhibition Hall, where the air show is taking place, and two of them also performed solo aerobatic manoeuvres.
The J-10C is a single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed by China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. Earlier models, such as the J-10A, featured at the 2020 Singapore Airshow.
The J-10C is equipped with an advanced engine and active electronically scanned array radar (AESA), and is armed with weapons such as PL-10 and PL-15 air-to-air missiles.
The jet’s appearance at the Singapore Airshow comes as China is looking to increase exports of its fighters, particularly in Global South countries that have been unable to buy more advanced Western warplanes.
Miniature models of the plane also featured at air shows in Dubai and Paris last year.
Pakistan – which has 36 export variants of the plane along with around 250 PL-15 missiles – is the only foreign country known to operate J-10C fighters at present.
During its four-day border war with India last May, Pakistan said the jets had shot down five Indian fighters, including at least one French-made 4.5 generation Rafale fighter jet.
The incident was the Chinese fighter jet’s first known air-to-air kill recorded in live combat, as well as the first loss of the French jet in combat.
The publicity surrounding the J-10C also increased its potential appeal among prospective buyers, including armed forces in Southeast Asia.
In October, Indonesia was reported to have been considering a deal to acquire 42 J-10Cs in a US$9 billion deal, but Jakarta later said it had not made a final decision.
The Singapore Airshow also featured a half-size model of the J-35A, the land-based variant of a Chinese fifth-generation stealth fighter originally designed for use on aircraft carriers.
The carrier-based J-35, which spent a decade under development, was officially delivered to the People’s Liberation Army in September last year, after featuring in a parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
It is the country’s second fifth-generation fighter jet after the J-20, but the latter fighter is not allowed to be exported.
A representative of the China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation, the international offshoot of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, said on condition of anonymity at the Singapore Airshow that the J-35A was still at the testing phase and had not been assigned an official commissioning date.
The J-35 made its first public appearance at the Zhuhai air show in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong in November 2024.
The jet has since featured at a number of overseas air shows, including those in Dubai and Paris, as China seeks to promote the fifth-generation fighter on the international market.
The J-35 is widely regarded as China’s answer to the United States’ own fifth-generation fighter, the F-35.
The American plane also featured at the Singapore Airshow, during an aerobatics display by the Royal Australian Air Force. – SCMP
