Our Bureau
New Delhi
The reports have come out suggesting that China is all set to provide Pakistan 40 Shenyang J-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter jets. This is concerning news for the country as the Indian Air Force currently does not have any stealth fighter jets in its arsenal and if the estimations are right it would take somewhere around a decade for India to have them.
The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which is set to be India’s indigenous fifth-generation stealth aircraft, is still a decade away from its induction. So with Pakistan getting 40 fifth-generation stealth fighter jets the questions are on how India is preparing to tackle these stealth jets if tensions rise in the times to come.
Group Captain Ajay Ahlawat (Retd.), a former IAF fighter pilot and defence analyst, shared that he wasn’t really surprised when the neighboring country acquired these jets. He stated that the Pakistani pilots were already training 6 months prior to the induction.
Ahlawat said, “Pakistan receiving these jets is not a surprise at all because their team of nominated fighter pilots have been in China for more than six months. They were training on the type before they were inducted. It was reported that the version that China will give to Pakistan is the FC-31, a slightly toned-down version of the J-35, which is practised across the globe. Nobody gives the full version.”
As stated by the captain, Pakistan will be getting the FC-31 which is an export version of the J-35. As per the reports, the FC-31 is slightly shorthanded in terms of capability when compared to the frontline aircraft that was used to serve the People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF).
The news is a little concerning for the Indian air force as they have been the one who have had an upper hand on their cross-border counterparts all along. With the addition of these 40 stealth fighter jets Pakistan is narrowing the gap between them and India.
