PFX to Advance Pakistan Air Force Modernization

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan has unveiled its PFX (Pakistan Fighter Experimental) program as a significant upgrade to its JF-17 joint program with China. The new upgrade will have a number of stealth features ranging from the use of radar-absorbing composite materials and diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI) to internal weapons bay (IWB) which will significantly reduce the aircraft's radar signature. It is targeted for completion by the end of this decade. In addition, the PFX's twin-engine design will improve maneuverability and allow greater payload capacity. 

Pakistan PFX Concept Fighter. Source: Raksha Anirveda

The program is part of Pakistan's broader strategy to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and strengthen the domestic defense industry. Currently, 58% of JF-17 components are manufactured locally by PAC, but Pakistan aims to increase this share to achieve full production autonomy for the PFX. It is not just about the PAF modernization but also about positioning Pakistan as an important player in the global military aviation market. 

The PFX is an evolution of a plan that Pakistan announced in 2017 to develop and produce 5th generation fighter planes. It is part of Pakistan Air Force's highly ambitious Project Azm that includes building Kamra Aviation City dedicated to education, research and development and manufacturing of advanced fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and weapon systems.

The PAF has already started replacing its aging fleet with the induction of the Chinese J10C fighter jets which are considered 4.5 Gen. The J10-C has stealth features like diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI).  Its BVR capability is supported by PL-15 missiles, with an engagement range of up to 200 kilometers, facilitating long-range target engagements. 

The PAF has also begun the process of acquiring 5th generation Chinese J35 fighter jets. The delivery of 40 J35 fighters to Pakistan is expected within two years, potentially altering regional dynamics, particularly concerning India. 

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[Riaz Haq]

India confirms Chinese missiles used by Pakistan in strikes

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/05/13/india-says-chines...

India has confirmed Pakistan used Chinese-made missiles during the recent cross-border military strikes.

Air Marshal AK Bharti, India’s director general air operations, said Indian forces had intercepted and neutralised a range of hi-tech foreign weapons used by Pakistan, including the Chinese-origin PL-15 long-range air-to-air missile and Turkish Byker YIHA III Kamikaze drones.

“You can see the pieces of it on the screen,” AM Bharti said during a media briefing, pointing to the debris of a PL-15 missile recovered from a field in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, bordering Pakistan in northern India.



Pakistan claims it shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three French-made Rafales.

A French intelligence source told CNN that a Rafale jet had indeed been downed during exchanges of fire.

Delhi sidestepped a question on whether it had lost jets, saying instead that all its pilots were safe.

The PL-15, developed by China’s Aviation Industry Corporation, is designed to strike high-value airborne targets at ranges exceeding 200km.

In public, Beijing has so far struck a diplomatic tone on the crisis between two South Asian neighbours that were brought back from an all-out-war through back-channel talks.

But in private, a Chinese delegation travelled to the Pakistani foreign ministry in the middle of the night to celebrate the success of the missile strikes.

India’s decision to name China in the recent crisis signals growing alarm in New Delhi over deepening military cooperation between the arch rivals.

The Pakistani and Chinese militaries are hosting joint exercises and sharing common weapon platforms.

The Chinese are also sharing their intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities with Pakistan.

Officers are embedded in the military commands of each other’s nations, such as Pakistani officers placed in China’s Central Military Commission and Western Theatre Command at Chengdu, which oversees the operational frontier with India.

The PL-15 missile, which has never before been used in combat, is powered by a dual-pulse motor that propels it to hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 5.

“Because they are very, very fast, they basically have what you call a ‘no-escape zone’,” said Fabian Hoffmann, a missile technology researcher and fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis.

The confirmation comes just days after Pakistan’s army published a YouTube video showcasing its military arsenal, including a Chinese-made JF-17 Block 3 fighter jet, less advanced than the J-10C, equipped with PL-15 missiles. The combination offers “potent punch”, a caption reads.

Analysts believe one of these missiles may have been used to shoot down a Rafale fighter deep inside Indian territory in a long-range “stand-off” engagement in which neither side crossed the

The wreckage of a Rafale was reportedly found near Bathinda in Punjab in northern India.

The apparent involvement of Chinese aircraft in shooting down a Rafale has ricocheted through defence circles – and sent stock in its maker, Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, surging by as much as 20 per cent.

Until now, Chinese weaponry had not been field-tested against Western-made systems like the Rafale.

The Indian Air Force operates a fleet of 36 Rafale F3Rs, the most advanced model of the aircraft.

Hu Jixin, the former editor of the Chinese state-owned Global Times, said the battle showed “China’s level of military manufacturing has completely surpassed that of Russia and France”, adding that Taiwan should feel “even more scared”.

[Riaz Haq]

Chinese weapons gain credibility after Pakistan-India conflict. source: Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-13/success-of-chine...

The shares of China's jet maker, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, soared by more than a fourth after its J-10C, deployed by Pakistan, purportedly shot down five Indian fighters last week, including French-made Rafale aircraft, last week in response to Indian military strikes.

(May 13): The recent conflict between India and Pakistan is prompting a reassessment of Chinese weapons, challenging long-held perceptions of their inferiority to Western arms and sparking concern in places wary of Beijing.

Pakistan hailed the use of its Chinese J-10Cs to shoot down five Indian fighters, including French-made Rafale aircraft, last week in response to Indian military strikes. Although the reports haven’t been confirmed, and India hasn’t commented, the jet’s maker saw its market capitalisation soar by over 55 billion yuan (RM32.71 billion), or more than a fourth, by the end of last week.

Hu Xijin, the ex-editor-in-chief of China’s nationalist tabloid Global Times, warned on social media that if Pakistan’s successful strikes were true, Taiwan should feel “even more scared”. Beijing sees the self-ruled democracy as its own, and reserves the right to use military force to bring it under control.

Taiwan closely watched the clash between Pakistan and India, according to Shu Hsiao-Huang, an associate research fellow at the Institute of National Defence and Security Research, a government-funded military think tank based in Taipei.

“We may need to reassess the PLA’s [People’s Liberation Army] air combat capabilities, which may be approaching — or even surpassing — the level of US air power deployments in East Asia,” Shu said, adding Washington might want to consider selling more advanced systems to Taiwan.

While President Xi Jinping has been trying to modernise the world’s biggest military by the number of active personnel, the People’s Liberation Army has been mired in scandals. That had raised questions about the combat-readiness of its powerful and secretive Rocket Force, which is responsible for conventional missiles and would play a crucial role in any invasion of Taiwan.

The reported success of J-10Cs, which have had few battle tests and are used to patrol the Taiwan Strait, appears to counter those doubts. It’s still uncertain, however, how they would fare against US fighters such as the F-16, which make up the bulk of Taiwan’s jets and have been combat-proven across decades and militaries.

Another Chinese weapon Pakistan uses will also be coming under intense scrutiny by Beijing’s adversaries. Parts of Chinese air-to-air PL-15 missiles found in India after the reported shoot-downs suggest the weapons, deployed on Pakistan’s J-10C aircraft, proved effective in their first known combat use. With a top speed above Mach 5, the PL-15 is a rival to Western air-to-air missiles.

China is the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter but its customers are mostly developing nations like Pakistan that have limited funds. The latest developments could bolster Beijing’s sales pitch as major economies from Europe to Asia heed President Donald Trump’s call to ramp up defence spending.

“There is a good chance the weapons systems China is able to offer will be even more appealing to potential buyers” especially in the Global South, said James Char, assistant professor of the China Program at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, noting the J-10C is not even China’s most advanced jet.

Buying weapons has also become a focus for developing nations, mulling US arms purchases to appease Trump and his demands to reduce American trade imbalances. Several of these countries list China as a top trading partner and could consider hedging bets by acquiring systems from the Asian country, too.

[Riaz Haq]

Chinese weapons gain credibility after Pakistan-India conflict. source: Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-13/success-of-chine...

China’s overseas arms sales have been growing, with its five-year average weapons exports more than tripling in 2020-2024 from 2000-2004, according to calculations based on data from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Chinese government and state-owned enterprises do not disclose data on arms exports.

Some of the largest state-owned players — also blacklisted by the US — include Norinco Group, which makes armoured vehicles and anti-missiles systems; Aviation Industry Corporation of China, whose subsidiary AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Co manufactured the J-10Cs; as well as China State Shipbuilding Corp, a producer of frigates and submarines.

M Taylor Fravel, director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cautioned that the Chinese jet was primarily for aerial combat, while the Rafale was designed to conduct many kinds of missions, meaning the J-10 may have held an advantage.

Chinese weapons exports have been plagued for years by defects, specialists have said, adding that the seemingly inexpensive systems can drain security budgets due to maintenance expenses.

“China attracts customers for its military equipment with cut-rate pricing and financing but there are hidden costs — especially when gear malfunctions,” Cindy Zheng, then a researcher at Rand Corp, wrote in a research paper just before joining the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in the latter stages of the Biden administration.

In 2022, Myanmar had to reportedly ground its fleet of Chinese fighter jets due to structural cracks and other technical issues. Bangladesh lodged complaints with Beijing about the quality of its military hardware last year. Even the Pakistan Navy has been facing issues with its F-22P frigates, forcing them to operate the vessels with significantly degraded capabilities.

“Questions about combat capabilities and other issues, including concerns about interoperability with non-Chinese platforms, have hampered China’s ability to expand exports beyond a handful of countries,” Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior associate analyst Eric Zhu wrote in a note last week.

China’s Defence Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment on the past weapon defects and the J-10C’s recent performance. Beijing regularly says that its military helps maintain global stability and that it prefers to resolve the Taiwan issue peacefully.

Xi has been trying to turn China’s defence industry around by bringing together the military and civilian sectors, in an effort to transform the PLA into a modern force by 2027.

That’s led to breakthroughs such as China’s launch in December of its first next-generation amphibious assault ships, considered the world’s largest of its kind. A video of what is believed to be a test flight of the nations’ sixth-generation fighter jet circulated on social media that year, leading to a rally in defence stocks.

But it’s wrong to call the J-10C’s potential success a “DeepSeek moment” for China’s military, said Fravel, referring to the artificial intelligence chat bot that surprised the world earlier this year, noting that the jet’s design wasn’t new.

“But it doesn’t need to be a DeepSeek moment to be significant,” he added. “A lot is being learned about how Chinese systems perform under combat conditions.”