Pakistani Minister of Defence stated that the reports of Pakistan and China signing a deal for J-35A fighter jets are incorrect during a live interview.
Defence Blog reported that the Pakistani Minister of Defence, Khawaja Asif, denied recent reports of a deal for 40 J-35A being signed with China.
Previously, the Government of Pakistan announced a major defence equipment package offer from China, which not only includes 40 J-35A fighters but also KJ-500 AEW&C and HQ-19 anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems.
The denial of reports on a deal being signed shows that negotiations are ongoing, as no mention of a cancellation was made in the interview. Talks for the acquisition of this scale, 40 low-observable fighter jets, is bound to take more a year no matter the depth of Pakistani-Chinese cooperation in defence by a rule of thumb.
J-35A
J-35 is the second stealth fighter from China after J-20. The fighter is being developed in J-35 and J-35A configurations.
J-35A is the air force configuration of the J-35 family of multirole fighters with exportability in mind, whereas the J-20 is likely to remain a China-only fighter like the F-22.
The fighter can carry up to BVRAAMs and likely two WVRAAMs inside the internal bays. In addition to an unknown type of AESA radar, the fighter carries an EOTS for use against ground targets.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor:Özgür Ekşi
