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China gives Mideast buyers a glimpse of latest J-35 jet as stealth market takes off
Suppliers from France, South Korea and Turkey are also competing for a share of defence budgets in the region
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Seong Hyeon Choiin Abu Dhabi
China has been promoting the latest version of its carrier-based stealth fighter jet at the Middle East’s biggest military expo as competition heats up for aircraft sales in the region.
China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) gave visitors to the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) this week the first close look at a model of the carrier-based J-35 since the aircraft’s official unveiling at the Zhuhai air show in November.
A CATIC official at the expo in Abu Dhabi said the J-35 fighter aircraft was “similar to the F-35” and was attracting attention among the customers in the Middle East.
He declined to be named and to give further information.
CATIC was also promoting the J-10CE, the export-variant of the 4.5-generation multirole combat aircraft, the J-10C. The aircraft is fitted with a Chinese WS-10B engine and is often compared with US F-16s.
The Pakistan Air Force has operated the aircraft since 2022 and China has reportedly struck a deal to sell them to Egypt to replace that country’s ageing fleet of F-16s. Earlier this month, news site BulgarianMilitary.com quoted an unverified social media post as saying Egypt may have already taken delivery of its first J-10CEs.
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