Several people killed after plane crashes into a school campus in Bangladesh
The armed forces say the F-7 jet experienced a mechanical fault after taking off for a training exercise.
More than 50 people, including children, were taken to hospital suffering burns.
The pilot of the aircraft was among those killed.
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The Diplomat
3 days ago
- The Diplomat
Flying Coffins and Broken Systems: The F-7 Disaster in Bangladesh
The tragic crash into a school was not an aberration, but the result of entrenched issues in the Bangladesh Armed Forces. On July 21, an FT-7BGI trainer from the Bangladesh Air Force crashed through the roof of a school in Uttara, Dhaka, killing its pilot and 30 other people, most of them children. It was the deadliest aviation disaster the capital has ever seen, and yet it was utterly predictable. The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) has been plagued by crashes for decades. Since the early 1990s, at least 27 crashes have claimed military and civilian lives, including seven involving the Chinese-made fighters like the F-7. Each time, officials mumble the same line: 'technical failure,' as if bad luck, not bad governance, keeps sending jets into homes, fields, and now classrooms. Those excuses are a shield for a deeper rot. Even the 'newer' F-7 models bought under the now-fugitive former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2013 are derivatives of a 1960s Soviet design and notorious for their poor safety record. Privately, BAF personnel concede the obvious: these jets are obsolete, dangerous, and costly to keep in the air. Publicly, senior officials shift the blame to urban density, pilot error, or technical malfunctions. What they never confront is the corrupt procurement system and cynical budgeting that keep these flying coffins in service. Bangladesh's defense budget has ostensibly ballooned by 123 percent since 2009. Yet recent cuts leave just $9 billion earmarked for actual procurement. That number looks tiny set against the colossal sums quietly diverted elsewhere. The budgeting system is engineered less to build capability than to buy loyalty. Parliamentary scrutiny is almost nonexistent. 'National security' is the magic phrase used to turn off the lights and lock the ledger. Transparency International rates Bangladesh as a 'very high' risk for defense corruption. On the ground, that means padded maintenance contracts, ghost repairs, and 'service' budgets used as personal ATMs. Over 55 years after independence, the armed forces have grown richer but not stronger. During the past decade and a half, money has flowed into cantonments and military-run colleges. Outdated platforms – tanks, jets, and vehicles – are snapped up from friendly regimes willing to grease palms. The result is a patronage-heavy bureaucratic-military complex that prioritizes consumption over combat readiness. The famous Al Jazeera documentary 'All the Prime Minister's Men' pulled the curtain back on this system: former Army Chief Gen. Aziz Ahmed allegedly shielded fugitive brothers and ran procurement through fronts. Hasina's security adviser, Maj. Gen. Tarique Ahmed Siddique purportedly turned elite units into personal enforcement squads while steering deals worth thousands of crores. Ex-Air Force Chief Air Marshal Sheikh Abdul Hannan is accused of embezzling roughly 300 million takas ($2.45 million) – nearly a quarter of the service's budget – by bulldozing usable buildings for profit, and laundering funds abroad. These are not random bad apples. This is the orchard. A vicious cycle sustains the same issues that caused the latest fatal crash. Old aircraft break down and require frequent maintenance. Maintenance contracts generate steady streams of cash, ideal for siphoning by senior officials. Bangladesh still flies roughly 40 F-7s long retired elsewhere. Procurement of truly modern aircraft remains sluggish, politicized, and graft-ridden, because a new jet with a warranty doesn't leak money like a 40-year-old airframe. When the state does try to buy big, corruption nests at the top. A 1999 MiG-29 deal – dogged by allegations of bribery involving Hasina – and a naval frigate purchase worth over $100 million in the 1990s are reminders that strategic acquisitions have often doubled as elite enrichment schemes. The Directorate General of Defense Procurement reportedly funnels inflated contracts to military-owned conglomerates like Sena Kalyan Sangstha and the Army Welfare Trust. What began as welfare institutions now sprawl across banking, insurance, real estate, and manufacturing – perfect shells for over-billing and under-delivering. Whistleblowers are not just ignored; they are punished. A Bangladeshi general was recently dismissed after exposing graft in procurement. The culture of impunity devours anyone who threatens the racket. Another quieter allegation haunts the country's strategic credibility: Hasina kept the arsenal mediocre so as not to upset New Delhi and keep the bilateral relations manageable. If true, it means the state is literally trading away the safety of its pilots – and its schoolchildren – to avoid bruising a neighbor's ego. Inside the services, that logic has bred a corrosive ethos. Officers chase land deals, business stakes, and perks; professionalism is an afterthought. In the Air Force, that means pilots strapping into relics held together by bribes and prayers. The price of this degeneracy is often paid by the young: the pilot with everything to prove, the child sitting in a classroom beneath a doomed flight path. Bangladesh does not need another commission of inquiry or another promise to 'review procedures.' It needs a to open the budgetary black box. Start with full parliamentary oversight of defense spending, line-item transparency, and independent external audits for every maintenance contract. Ban single-source procurement, publish tender results, and criminalize undisclosed conflicts of interest. Break the monopoly of military-owned conglomerates over defense deals. Protect whistleblowers with ironclad legal shields – and prosecute the predators, not the messengers. Most of all, the interim government – and whatever elected authority follows – must purge the armed forces of the mafioso hangovers from the Hasina era and build a genuinely professional, nonpartisan military. That means modern hardware bought for performance, not payoffs; it means safety and training prioritized over stipends and shopping malls. None of this is easy, but all of it is necessary. Without real accountability, the next 'technical failure' is foreordained: it just lacks a date and GPS coordinates. Officials will trot out the same limp statements, promise the same 'thorough investigations,' and hope the public moves on. Bangladesh can no longer afford to repeat that cycle.
India Today
4 days ago
- India Today
How Dhaka crash of F-7 jet spotlights risks from obsolete Chinese militaryware
Through the 100-hours-long stand-off between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, several military aviation experts praised the performance of Chinese-built fighter jets like J10C and JF-17 used by the Pakistani Air Force (PAF). They were claimed to have scored well against fighter jets pitched by the Indian Air Force, including France's Rafale and Russian Su-30. It even led to a massive jump in the stocks of Chinese jet maker Avic Chengdu Aircraft Co Ltd, up by over 36 per cent in just two days of Operation the recent crash of an F-7BGI fighter jet, flown by the Bangladesh Air Force, has spotlighted how, despite incremental updates, China continues to export outdated, unreliable Soviet-era aircraft to developing countries, compromising safety and watchers claim this tragedy underscores the grave risks of relying on cheap but antiquated Chinese weaponry systems plagued by quality control failures, opacity and corruption, costing not only military lives but also innocent civilians far from any battlefield. Internal reports and anti-corruption probes in China have revealed rampant graft in defence procurement, including 'pay-for-promotion' schemes and compromised maintenance procedures, raising fears that exported platforms, like the F-7, are riddled with invisible risks. Despite global sales, Beijing rarely discloses incidents involving its military equipment, deepening mistrust among client July 21, a Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI fighter jet crashed into Dhaka's Milestone School and College, resulting in the death of 27 people—most of them children—and injuring over 170 others. The tragedy, reportedly caused by catastrophic mechanical failure moments after take-off from Kurmitola airbase, has thrown the nation into mourning and sparked public outrage. Despite the pilot's attempts to steer the failing jet away from densely populated areas, the aircraft slammed into the school, igniting a fire and causing widespread devastation. Hospitals treated dozens of victims for severe burns and trauma. Observers maintain that the F-7 BGI, a Chinese-made fighter jet, is derived from the 1960s-era Soviet MiG-21 and was exported to Bangladesh in the last decade as an affordable solution for air force modernisation. Developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, the F-7 BGI serves as a low-cost, multi-role fighter optimised for the Bangladesh Air Force. It features a double delta wing, modern avionics including multi-function displays and HUD, and carries short-range air-to-air missiles and guided acquired 16 units between 2011 and 2013 for fleet modernisation. The plane's top speed is Mach 2.2, with a payload capacity of up to 3,000 lbs. The F-7 BGI jet is the last and most advanced variant of China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft series, itself a licenced derivative of the Soviet-era MiG-21 design from the China has incrementally enhanced avionics and weapons systems, the platform remains fundamentally obsolete by modern military aviation standards. Purchased by Bangladesh in 2013 alongside 15 others, this fleet's operational use in routine training flights reveals the hazards of relying on outdated equipment in training environments close to civilian incident is not an isolated one. In June 2025, a Myanmar Air Force J-7 crashed in Pale township under mysterious circumstances, with speculation surrounding technical faults or possible enemy action. In 2022, a J-7 crashed into a residential block in Xiangyang, Hubei province, China, although the pilot successfully ejected before impact. Another incident occurred on June 10 when a Chinese air force Chengdu J-7 crashed into houses during a training mission in central China, killing one person on the ground and injuring two safety concerns surrounding F-7 fighter jets are not limited to China. A PAF F-7PG plane crashed during a routine training flight in 2020, resulting in the death of the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Muhammad Asim Nawaz. The Bangladesh Air Force has also experienced its share of accidents, including an F-7BG crash in 2018 that killed pilot Arif Ahmed Dipu, and an F-7MB that went missing over the Bay of Bengal in 2015, with the pilot never countries around the world operate Chinese fighter jets, showcasing China's growing influence in the global military aviation market. Pakistan is one of the largest operators, with a fleet of J-10C Vigorous Dragon and JF-17 Thunder multirole combat aircraft. The JF-17 is a China-Pakistan project, with Pakistan operating over 150 of these aircraft. The country has also received 20 J-10Cs, further bolstering its air force is another significant operator of Chinese fighter jets, with around 36 Chengdu J-7s, eight ageing Shenyang J-6s, and some Hongdu JL-8 jet trainers. Zambia has also acquired Chinese-made aircraft, including six Hongdu JL-10s and 10 Shenyang J-6s, which are part of its efforts to modernise its military with affordable and accessible is another country that relies heavily on Chinese fighter jets, operating Nanchang Q-5, Shenyang J-6, and Chengdu J-7 aircraft. North Korea also boasts a significant fleet of Chinese and Soviet-era fighter jets, including Shenyang J-6, Chengdu J-7, and Shenyang F-5 aircraft. Thailand has recently participated in joint exercises with China's air force, highlighting Beijing's expanding military activities in the region. Myanmar has also operated Chinese-made J-7 fighter jets, with one crashing under mysterious circumstances in June aviation experts pointed out that this incident underscores the dangerous dilemma faced by developing countries that turn to budget Chinese arms: the choice between affordability and modern safety is stark, and often the latter is sacrificed, with disastrous consequences. China's military industrial sector is also frequently criticised for its secrecy regarding technical problems and accident records, making it hard for buyers to properly assess the risks associated with their Bangladesh, after the jet tragedy, mass grief has quickly become anger, leading to demands for accountability from defence suppliers and calls to restrict military flights over populated areas. The government has vowed to launch a full investigation and review its procurement to India Today Magazine- Ends
Hans India
6 days ago
- Hans India
Combat readiness of Chinese defence equipment remains highly doubtful
The F-7BGI fighter jet of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) that crashed earlier this week into the Milestone School and College campus killing dozens, mostly children, is a single-engine, lightweight fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China. It is considered a modernized version of Chengdu F-7, also known as J-7 whose lineage can be traced back to the Soviet Mig-21. The People's Liberation Army Airforce (PLAAF) and other countries have continued to upgrade F-7 to F-7BGI for training and limited combat roles. China officially terminated production of the F-7 series in 2013 and Bangladesh bought the final match of these aircraft that same year. PLAAF decommissioned the entire J-7 fleet by the end of 2023. Since 1992, the BAF has recorded 27 fighter aircraft, including trainer crashes. Further, from 2005 till date, BAF lost 11 aircraft in crashes, of these seven were Chinese aircraft, three Russian and one a Czech aircraft. Most of the crashes involved Chinese-origin aircraft. Over the years, the BAF has lost Wing Commanders, Squadron Leaders, Flight Lieutenants, Flying Officers, Warrant Officers and Cadet pilots. Surprisingly, despite the outdated equipment, BAF still continues to seal new defence deals with the Chinese. Bangladesh imports about 85 per cent of defence equipment from China. This includes Tanks (MBT-2000, Type 59, Type 69), artillery systems, and small arms for the army; Frigates, missile boats, and submarines (Ming-class) for the Navy and fighter jets (F-7 BGI, K-8W training jets) for its Air Force. Pakistan too is dependent on China for more than 85 per cent of its military requirement. Despite Pakistan's financial constraints and reliance on foreign loans, Pakistan has spent a lot of money over the last five years to buy Chinese defence equipment to modernise its own military. Pakistan has a significant inventory of Chinese-origin weapons and systems, including air defence systems, J-10 and JF-17 fighters, submarines, and warships. Between 2020-24, China had supplied 81 per cent of Pakistan's total arms imports, making Beijing Islamabad's largest arms supplier. This included fighter jets JF-17 Thunder (co-developed), J-10C Firebird; submarines like Hangor-class (Type 039B/041); Type 054A/P Frigates (Tughril-class); Air Defence Systems (ADS) HQ-9 Long-Range Air Defence, LY-80 (HQ-16 export version); Tanks: VT-4 Main Battle Tanks (Haider); Artillery: SH-15 155mm howitzers and Drones: Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) like CH-4 'Rainbow'. Wing Loong II and Azmat-class Fast Attack Crafts vessels, equipped with C-802A anti-ship missiles, have also been built with the Chinese assistance. At the same time, Pakistan continues to lean towards Chinese platforms. India's 'Operation Sindoor' post-spine-chilling attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22 by Pakistan-based terror group The Resistance Front (TRF), practically neutralised Pakistani ADS at a number of locations across the border. Chinese weapons and China's grand experiment to turn Pakistan into a testing ground for its military hardware backfired spectacularly, with Indian systems outperforming the Chinese ones. HQ-9 Chinese ADS failed to intercept Indian missiles. India struck Pakistan's Nur Khan Airbase Chaklala Cantonment in Rawalpindi, considered to be critical in Pakistan's military infrastructure. Importantly, China had helped Pakistan in adjusting its satellite coverage over India during 'Operation Sindoor', which Pakistan acknowledged. In a major ELINT win, India was able to capture unique signal emissions and system behaviour linked to the Pakistan Air Force's J-10C and JF-17 multirole fighter jets, as well as PL 15 beyond-visual-range air-to-air and HQ-7 and HQ-9 surface-to-air missile systems, which were frontline Chinese-origin weapon systems. Nigerian Air Force too had serious problems with the F-7Ni aircraft which was involved in accidents, including mid-air collision in 2018 during air display rehearsal. Seven aircraft were marked for high-tech maintenance in China including two aircraft slated for a life extension programme with the Chinese support within Nigeria. Similarly, several African countries including Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan have had difficulties with the sub-standard Chinese Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Jordan's Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) was dissatisfied with the performance of the Chinese CH-4B drones in 2016 and subsequently put them up for sale in 2019. China is happy selling its defence equipment to developing countries or to the least developed countries. Chinese defence firms sell the equipment indiscriminately. However, to maintain its dominance in the military sphere at the global level, China never allows export of advanced variants of defence equipment. Moreover, China has deftly sold defence equipment to governments and regimes without any regard for human rights violations or degree of stability or intentions and little accountability. The developing countries continue to operate these faulty Chinese defence equipment causing fatal accidents. China's Military-Industrial Complex (MIC) plays a crucial role in forming the defence and security landscape of other buyer nations. China is adept in using espionage to acquire defence technology. Recently, the US Department of Defence (DoD) had accused Beijing in this regard. China is the fourth largest arms exporter globally. It holds 5.8 per cent share of the global arms bazaar. In 2010, China was the world's second largest arms importer. China's sudden leap in every domain - fighter jets, warships, missile systems, space technology and drones - has deeply upset several countries. China's defence equipment exports are primarily concentrated in Asia. A substantial portion of China's arms exports is to Pakistan. China's defence exports touched a 10-year high in 2022 with USD $3.24 billion. However, China continues to face challenges in meeting its sophisticated quality defence exports equipment spearheaded by President Xi Jinping, aimed at especially supporting China's rise as a global military power. China offers weapons at a favourable low price, including credits and soft loans compared to the Western countries. The rise of China's in-house defence industry has resulted in lesser quality control. Furthermore, developing countries have few alternatives and affordability is the key issue. Inferior technology weapons, inconsistent performance, defective components, and insufficient after-sales service have become synonymous with China's military hardware. These issues have damaged and will continue to destroy China's reputation as an arms exporter.
