Pakistan is reportedly set to acquire the J-35 fifth-generation stealth aircraft from China. The purchase would once again position Pakistan ahead of India in the race to acquire an advanced combat aircraft, a trend visible since the mid-1950s when the two countries started building their air power.
India acquired the Dassault Ouragans (Toofani) in 1953. Pakistan quickly followed up by acquiring 102 much-superior F-86F “Sabre” aircraft manufactured in the United States.
A few years later, the Indian Air Force (IAF) acquired the Dassault Mystère IV, which was inducted in 1957. In 1961, Pakistan, a major non-NATO ally of the United States, received the F-104 Starfighters as part of the Mutual Assistance Program.
India once again had to make a purchase that would offset the capability gap with Pakistan, and New Delhi responded by purchasing the Soviet MiG-21, which entered service in 1964.
Two decades later, in 1981, the United States approved the sale of F-16s to Pakistan as part of an aid package. Once again, India urgently needed to upgrade its combat fleet, and an order for the French Dassault Mirage-2000 was placed in 1982.
This was followed by India going a step further and placing an order for the Soviet MiG-29—becoming the first international customer of the aircraft outside of the Warsaw Pact countries.
The trend was not going to change dramatically in the 21st century. In 2010, the PAF inducted the first squadron of the JF-17 fighter jet, which it co-developed with its ally, China. In contrast, it took India six more years to induct a comparable aircraft, the indigenously designed LCA Tejas-Mk1, which was inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2016.
In fact, Pakistan has already started inducting the latest variant of the JF-17, dubbed the ‘JF-17 Block III’, into service since 2023, whereas India’s production and delivery of the Tejas-Mk1A have been running behind schedule.
For a long time, military-controlled Pakistan has made preemptive decisions to boost its Air Force. Pakistan’s reported interest in purchasing the Chinese J-35 fifth-generation stealth aircraft is another attempt by Islamabad to stay ahead of New Delhi in the combat jet race.
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J-35 For Pakistan?
Pakistan’s purchase of the J-35 would mark the first instance of China exporting its fifth-generation fighter jet to a foreign ally. There are speculative reports that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has authorized the purchase of 40 aircraft, which are anticipated to be delivered within two years.
China unveiled the J-35 during its Zhuhai Air Show last month. The stealthy aircraft, which had eerie similarity with the US F-35 Lightning II, is expected to have two variants—one for the Air Force and one for the Navy.
Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, the head of Pakistan’s Air Force, said in January 2024 that the “foundation for acquiring the J-31 stealth fighter aircraft has already been laid” and that it would join the PAF’s fleet “in the near future.” The J-35 is believed to be a more advanced and “production-ready” iteration of the earlier FC-31 model.
Writing for EurAsian Times, Indian Air Force veteran and a renowned military expert, Squadron Leader Vijainder K. Thakur (retd), explained that as compared to the FC-31 or J-31, the J-35 features more powerful WS-19 engines, more sophisticated radar system, and improved sensor fusion, improved aerodynamics and stealth characteristics, and a wider range of weapons, among other advanced features.
The J-35 is a medium-sized fighter with a tailplane wing configuration and a surface-attack capability. The acquisition of the aircraft by the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) would significantly bolster its capability. Together with the F-16 and J-10C, the J-35’s land-attack variant would provide Pakistan an edge over India.
On the contrary, India is far from inducting a fifth-generation stealth aircraft. India’s fifth-generation stealth aircraft, AMCA, is unlikely to enter service before 2034.
Moreover, the option to buy a stealth aircraft is severely limited. Currently, only three countries, including the United States, Russia, and China, have operational fifth-generation fighters. With the Chinese J-35 out due to India’s rivalry with China, the Russian Su-57 Felon and the American F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft are India’s only two realistic fifth-gen options.
The US has, so far, not explicitly stated that it would be open to selling the F-35 to India, partly because India uses a host of Russian-origin military equipment, including the S-400 air defense system. Even India has not shown much interest in acquiring the F-35s, as IAF has shied away from buying US-developed fighters.
Despite Indian military veterans supporting a re-look at the Su-57, New Delhi has not explicitly shown interest in buying the Russian stealth fighters, possibly due to limited production rate, repeated delays, and concerns regarding technology transfer.
The Pakistan Air Force has been on a modernization drive. In addition to its existing 4th-generation combat-hardened F-16s, the PAF received the 4.5th-generation J-10CE from China, which has been positioned as a counter to India’s Rafale. If Pakistan secures the delivery of the J-35 in the next 24 months, it would drastically shift the balance of air power in Islamabad’s favor.
Squadron Leader Vijainder K. Thakur emphasizes: “It is likely that by the year 2030, the PAF could be operating 2 squadrons of J-35A, comprising approximately 40 fighters. By the same year, the PLAAF, which is currently believed to have deployed around 200 J-20 fighters, could have deployed double the number. In stark contrast, the IAF would have no stealth fighters in its inventory by 2030!”
Advanced stealth aircraft are harder to intercept by air defense systems, and hence, they can launch first strikes. Though details about the J-35 currently remain shrouded in secrecy, Chinese experts have claimed that the J-35 is the “most stealthy” aircraft in the world.
How Indian ‘combat proven’ Rafale and Su-30 fighters stack up against ‘untested’ J-35 remains to be seen.
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