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US report says China has delivered 36 J-10s to Pakistan—as many as the Rafale jets operated by India
The main air-to-air weapon of the J-10s are PL-15 missiles, which were used by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
Snehesh Alex Philip24 December, 2025 03:48 pm IST
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New Delhi: China delivered J-10 fighter aircraft to Pakistan in two separate orders, totalling 36 jets, over the past five years, the US Department of War said in its latest report on Beijing’s military.
At 36, it is the same number of Rafale fighter jets procured by India.
ThePrint reported in 2022 that J-10s were being inducted by Pakistan as a counter to India’s Rafale.
The US report says Pakistan started getting the J-10s in 2020, the same year India got its hands on first four Rafale fighter jets.
“As of May 2025, delivered 20 units—their only J-10C exports—to Pakistan as part of two previous orders totalling 36 since 2020,” the ‘Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China for 2025’ noted.
Also Read: US clears $686-mn package to breathe fresh life into Pakistani F-16s
J-10s and PL-15s
The main air-to-air weapon deployed by J-10s are PL-15 missiles, which were used by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.China has two versions of the missiles—one for exports with a range of about 150 km and another that it keeps for itself, with a range of about 250 km.
It is learnt that just days before Operation Sindoor—launched by India in the aftermath of a deadly terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam—China had delivered longer-range PL-15s to Pakistan.
ThePrint had earlier reported on how Pakistan used NATO-style tactics in air-to-air combat.
The tactic, known as ‘launch-and-leave’, involves the use of two aircraft to control a missile. Sources said that one aircraft, after launching a missile, manoeuvres away to avoid any enemy fire. Control of the missile is then taken over by the second aircraft, which is equipped by more advanced radar or targeting systems.
It is the second aircraft that guides the missile to its target, allowing a military to catch the enemy at long distances or in a heavy air defence environment.
The missile becomes active only when it is within a particular distance of the target, and based on its speed, the target will have approximately 8 to 12 seconds to manoeuvre out of the path.
Sources explained that militaries often choose to fire multiple PL-15 missiles at a single target to increase the chances of a successful strike-rate when up against modern fighters, which are equipped with state-of-the-art electronic warfare systems.
It is believed that the Chinese J-10s that Pakistan operates and the Swedish Saab 2000 Erieye, an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, are capable of undertaking such ‘launch and leave’ tactics.
The Israeli connection
It is believed that the J-10C traces its origin to Israel’s multi-billion dollar Lavi fighter jet programme which was halted in August 1987.“J-10 draws its origin from the Israeli Lavi fighter programme which evolved from the F-16 fighters. The Israeli Air Force abandoned it in the late 1980s and the Chinese took that up and certain design changes were made,” Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retd), the then Director-General of Centre for Air Power Studies told ThePrint in 2022.
In 1988, then-Israeli Defence Minister Yitzhak Rabin had denied a Sunday Times report, which claimed that Israel and China were working together on missiles and fighter jet programmes. At that time, China and Israel did not have diplomatic ties, but business was still carried out.
The report had claimed that Israel had agreed to sell advanced missile technology to China, and to help it develop a fighter plane using technology derived from the Lavi.
The National Interest has reported that one notable Israeli export from the Lavi programme to China was the Python-3 heat-seeking missile, which was licensed for production by China’s Xi’an Aircraft Corporation in 1989 as the PL-8 missile, which remains in service even today.
Defence sources explained that while China and Israel had teamed up, Tel Aviv stopped under US pressure later, and Beijing went ahead independently with the fighter programme.
