Pakistan to buy 40 Chinese aircraft amid rising financial crisis
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New Delhi: Pakistan is in talks with China to buy 40 advanced Chinese stealth fighter jets, J-35A, while the country’s economy is still in a shambles.
As the deal comes through, Pakistan will become the only country in the world to possess stealth J-35A multi-role fighter jets other than China, according to NDTV.
Alongside, the deal will mark China’s first export of its latest military aircraft which is similar to the US aircraft Lockheed Martin F-35.
The J-35A makes China the only country after the US to have second fifth-generation stealth fighter jet.
Pakistan on the other hand wants to replace its ageing fleet of US-made F-16s and the French Mirage fighters.
It is reported citing South China Morning Post that China will deliver 40 aircraft in less than two years.
The defence industry in China is gearing up for mass production as the country is not depending on any other country for aircraft parts.
Pakistan's Air Force has approved the purchase of the jets which will boost the country’s air defence, leading to an arms race in the region.
The Shenyang J-35A stealth fighter is China’s the second fifth-generation stealth fighter developed after its J-20.
The J-35A is a twin-engine, single-seater, supersonic, air-superiority, multi-role fighter jet capable of carrying out missions on land and at sea.
The J-35A is similar to the US Lockheed Martin F-35 in design with only difference that Lockheed Martin F-35 has a single engine.
China is known to be copying several US aircraft with experts pointing to similarity between the J-20 and the US F-22 Raptor and the Chengdu J-10 seems to be a copy of the US F-16 fighter jet.
Pakistan is all set to secure the aircraft at a time when the country is surviving on bailout packages given by the IMF and World Bank.
This gives rise to a question how the cash-strapped country is going to finanance the deal.
It is reported citing defence experts that China may offer another loan which Pakistan, being neck deep in debt, would not be able to pay back.
Over time, Pakistan will have to sell its national assets or parts of the country to China to settle the debt, according to the report.