Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has reportedly completed its preparations to purchase a second fleet of 36 J-10C fighter jets from the Chinese aircraft giant, Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC). According to reports, it will be PAF’s second order for the 36 J-10Cs, which it will place in the next 6-12 months, while the previous deal with Chengdu also involved the same amount of fighter jets.
In total, PAF will be purchasing 72 units of J-10C, which will gradually be delivered until the end of 2026. By 2032, it intends to muster over 90 units of multi-role fighter jets. It is worth noting that PAF received the first batch of J-10Cs (25 units) in March and the second batch (11 units) in September of this year.
The single-engine tail-less canard delta wing J-10C houses fly-by-wire flight controls and an AESA fire control radar. It is made of composite materials for higher strength and lower weight. Its internal armament consists of Gryazev-Shipunov (GSh) 23 twin-barrel cannon, installed underneath the port side of the intake.
Other weaponry and equipment are mounted externally on 11 hardpoints, to which 6,000 kg of either missiles or bombs, drop-tanks containing fuel, or other equipment such as avionics pods can be attached.
Air-to-air missiles (AAMs) deployed by the J-10C may include short-range AAMs such as the PL-8 and PL-10, medium-range radar-guided AAMs such as the PL-12 and PL-15, unguided and precision-guided munitions such as laser-guided bombs, air-to-surface missiles, anti-ship missiles and anti-radiation missiles.
