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On 06 June, the Government of Pakistan announced (on the platform X) that China proposed an arms package consisting of 40 Shenyang J-35 next-generation fighter aircraft (NGFA), the HQ-19 theatre air defence system, and the KJ-500 airborne early warning and control system (AEW&C).
In addition, the government also revealed that Azerbaijan signed a landmark $4.6 billion defence deal with Pakistan that includes 40 JF-17 Thunder fighters from Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). This seems to be a major expansion of the deal Azerbaijan had signed earlier, which reportedly included 16 JF-17C Block-3 and JF-17B dual-seater aircraft.
The original tweet has been deleted, but the source material is available as a screenshot below:
However, in terms of the potential Pakistani purchases, this announcement sheds light on the country’s – and, in particular, the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) – emerging direction.
This direction seems to center on two core priorities: (1) building an edge in terms of offensive capabilities and (2) establishing a strategic air defence umbrella with anti-ballistic missile (ABM) capabilities.
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Indian airspace is densely defended with a multi-layered ground-based air defence system (GBADS) consisting of sophisticated surface-to-air missiles (SAM) – not least the S-400 and Barak-8-based MRSAM – as well as a growing fleet of cutting-edge 4.5-generation fighters, notably the Rafale, Tejas, and Super Sukhoi.
For the PAF, this would be an excessively high-risk threat environment for crewed fighters, including the J-35AE. If defensively prepared, IAF fighters could mount a resistance to a PAF air operation that would be comparable, if not more extensive, than the PAF’s counter on 07 May.
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