China is set to deliver 40 Shenyang J-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter planes to Pakistan. Induction of J-35 places Pakistan among few nations that use stealth technology. The Indian Air Force (IAF) which still has no stealth fighters in operational service is at least 10 years away until inducting its fourth generation indigenous stealth fighter – the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Formal estimations reckon that the AMCA will be inducted sometime in 2035.
The experts among the senior IAF veterans were requested to give their thoughts regarding the consequences of this development and to evaluate operational readiness of India in countering this fifth-generation stealth fighters.
Former Indian fighter pilot Ajay Ahlawat (Group Captain, Retd.), who is also a defence analyst, reported the developments to be the case, in the context of Pakistani pilot training with China.
This plan of supplying jets to Pakistan is no big news since their team of nominated fighter pilots have been in China more than half a year now, he added. They were practising on suspect before they were being drafted. The one that China is going to offer to Pakistan is considered to be FC-35, a slightly aware variant of J-35 practised worldwide. No-one ever tells the entire story.”
The FC-31 is an export model of the J-35 and it is commonly believed that this aircraft has less capability than the front-line aircraft that is used by the People Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF).
The surprise element is just that, said Group Captain Ahlawat, they are arriving just a little earlier than they were expected to. It leaves nothing to surprise at.”
Indian Air Force has had an air superiority over Pakistan since the beginning, through better training, strategy and a more varied inventory. The J-35 delivery jeopardizes such advantage.
That is concerning news, Group captain Ahlawat said. Since independence, we have struggled very hard in the sphere of procurement to maintain a competitive advantage at least with Pakistan and possibly with China as well. And any wing variant of J-35 in Pakistani colours will be giving us a concern. It’s concerning.”
I am afraid that we are left with two poor options, the F-35 and the Su-57. It is a much better option, the AMCA. The REAL answer to overcoming this mess is to put a national mission-mode behind it and get it on line as soon as possible.”
Another ambitious programme is the AMCA or advanced medium combat aircraft being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of India in conjunction with the air force and navy and is still in the initial stages of development. The planned introduction of the prototype is 2028-29, and it is not likely to be fully inducted until 2035.
Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor (Retd.) who had been involved in senior planning functions of the IAF accepted that it was a serious situation and gave an interim solution.
According to news reports, Pakistani is expected to receive 40 aircrafts by the end of December this year, he informed NDTV. The official number is nine to ten years by the time we could put in AMCA. We do not in any way doubt that we should have our indigenous platform. However, is the nation ready to wait another decade with enemies on two sides having more and capable equipment?
To fill the gap in capabilities, Air Marshal Kapoor proposed an off the skel acquisition of Russian Sukhoi Su-57 jets in the similar kind of government to government (G2G) arrangement that the Rafales were procured.
We had many compatibility reasons, including our equipment, weapons, radars and other systems with Su-57, as he explained. In a lot of parameters it is superior to the F-35. These two were flown at Aero India. I interviewed some individuals who were present in some of their performances. And there is no use denying that F-35 is state-of-the art. Yet in numerous respects Su-57 checks more units.”
Air Marshal Kapoor recommended that this deal ought to go hand in hand with technology transfer and access to the weapon system initial code to make it possible to support the incorporation of the indigenously-damaged DRDO system of India.
He added, “with Russian help we could have a foundation on which to build. Until AMCA is going to be ready, our aircrew and ground crew will gain valuable experience. Besides, our AMCA design and development teams will be able to garner the lessons learnt of operating a fifth-generation fighter under Indian conditions.”
It is not what Group Captain Ahlawat was supporting.
“I’m sorry. I am going to disagree with you one hundred per cent., he said. Transfer of Technology is good provided that we do not have AMCA. Then, it would be reasonable to say that we had no technology research cells. However, we do.
He was referring to the earlier participation of the IAF in the ongoing aborted FGFA (Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft) with Russia, where India had pulled out after testing the initial versions of the Su-57 fighter.
Noted Ahlawat, “We were in the Su-57 programme.” we did not like it what we saw. We expensed 350 million dollars and it took off. We know a lot about it, and we did not like it. Not a single full-fledged regiment of Su-57s is in operation in Russia. They have not engaged into producing what they will require. We are bridging the gap until our home grown fighter takes off. We ought to take something that we have proved. This is a poor development option, however, of the two poor development options, F-35 is the lesser of the two poor options.
Why India Should Be Worried About Pak Getting Chinese J-35 Stealth Jets
China comes up with the introduction of the J-35 which is the second 5th generation stealth fighter in November 2024. The J-35 is a twin engined single seater supersonic jet aircraft capable of multirole use. It is fitted with advanced avionics, such as an active electronically scanned array, an electro-optical targeting system, and infrared search-and-track.
According to the Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Chinese government, the J-35, in comparison to F-35 of the United States, the most expensive fighter ever in the history, operated in a stealth and counter-stealth combat environment to achieve and maintain an air dominance whilst destroying air defence forces”.
Pakistan, with its own stock of 20 Chinese J-10C and JF-17s, is also planning to implement 40 J-35s, and the first ones are due later this year, putting it in an exclusive club of the operators of stealth fighter jets.
Pakistan will obtain the FC-31 in watered-down form but nevertheless will be an airborne stealth jet and India has no such plane.
What is India so anxious about?
Since India lacks a fighter jet that goes undetected. This is due to the fact that the purchase of the 5th generation aircraft by Islamabad may change the balance of air power at least until Delhi will come up.
The J-35 is found as a so-called black box due to the lack of data concerning its possibilities, however, is also regarded as comparable to the US in performance, not to mention that even more superior than the F-35.
The J-35 has never been used in battles though.
Today, the earliest photos of the J-35, now branded the FC-31 appeared in August 2024. It had two versions: Navy and another one, used in ground-based operations and export.
The former is most probably destined to Pak, which is also believed to have the infrared search-and-track, in its nose.
China Daily added that the jet also has the ability to share, with other weapons such as surface-to-air missiles, so-called targets position as well as with its radar guiding other weapons to bring the targets to the ground.
Well, the major thing here is the stealth ability.
The J-35 radar cross section was reported to be only 0.001 sq m making it comparable to the F-35, and in a combat against India this will mean that the new fighter jet that Pak is going to put in operation will be extremely hard to pick up.
This implies that it will take more time before India identifies the jets when approaching the border.
Here is one more area of concern.
India may find itself in the severe conventional-front air battles since both China and Pak will be able to use stealth fighters as air defence systems among them.
This implies that Delhi has to plug the hole and this will have to begin with modernizing the extant air defence systems and deploy 5th generation jets manufactured by itself whether locally or otherwise.
J-35 purchase reveals India Armour Crack?
There is no 5 th generation stealth fighter in India.
It is still in progress – an ‘execution model’; as part of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft project, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had cleared it last month.
However the AMCA jet will not be patrolling the skies India at least before 2035.
In the interim of those years, India, air warfare professionals said in the interviews with NDTV, must be concerned.
Indian Air Force has enjoyed an air superiority advantage over Pak since a long time and this margin has only widened following the recent purchase of the French made Rafales by Delhi.
This advantage is threatened by the J-35 deliveries (can we say the FC-31?).
“”This is a cause of concern,” a former fighter pilot Group Captain Ajay Ahlawat (retd) told NDTV, “… any variant of the J-35 in Pakistani paint is going to be of concern to us.”
India had thought about making the purchase; they were reading the purchase of the F-35 and the Su-57.
These are however, bad choices, Group Captain Ahlawat said. I want a national mission-mode push to get AMCA in service ASAP, he said, because there is only one good answer to this dilemma and that is AMCA.
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