Latest news with #J-10s
Asia Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Asia Times
Indonesia torn between China's J-10 and US F-15EX
Indonesia's fighter jet dilemma pits cost, capability, and geopolitical leverage as it weighs China's now-battle-tested J-10s against pricier Western rivals. This month, Reuters reported that Indonesia is evaluating the potential acquisition of China's J-10 fighter jets, weighing their affordability and advanced capabilities against other options, including the US-made F-15EX. Deputy Defense Minister Donny Ermawan Taufanto confirmed that discussions are ongoing with China, which has also reportedly pitched naval vessels and armaments. Indonesia's evaluation considers system compatibility, after-sales support and pricing. The deliberations follow Indonesia's broader military modernization push, which saw the 2022 purchase of 42 French Rafale jets worth US$8.1 billion. Six Rafales are expected to be delivered next year. While Indonesia's interest in the J-10 predates recent India-Pakistan air skirmishes, Pakistan's use of J-10s to down at least one Indian-flown Rafale has added a new dimension to Jakarta's evaluation. Meanwhile, Indonesia is still mulling its planned F-15EX purchase, with questions rising around the $8 billion price tag for 24 jets. France remains a contender, with President Emmanuel Macron's recent visit to Indonesia resulting in a preliminary defense pact that could lead to further Rafale acquisitions. Taufanto emphasized Indonesia's budget constraints and strategic options, noting ongoing assessments of multiple offers. Highlighting the J-10's capabilities, Justin Bronk notes in an October 2020 report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) that the J-10 is China's response to the US F-16 and Swedish Gripen, offering comparable capabilities at a significantly lower acquisition cost. 'Think of the J-10C as roughly equivalent to a late-model F-16, but with some features, like its long-range missile suite, that could give it the edge in certain scenarios,' says David Jordan, a senior lecturer in defense studies at King's College London, in a May 2025 Business Insider article. 'You may well see a very viable competitor to Western products entering contests for the purchase of new fighter aircraft,' says Jordan. However, no matter how capable the J-10 may be on paper, Indonesia's chronic procurement dysfunction, underfunding, weak institutional support and fragmented planning raise serious questions about its ability to field any advanced fighter effectively. 'Indonesia's air force modernization and fleet recapitalization has been marred with multiple challenges, including lack of funding, lack of government commitment, as well as inefficient and highly personalized acquisition policy,' says Olli Suorsa in a March 2021 S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) report. For Indonesia's cash-strapped air force, which by all accounts is in serious need of modernization, the J-10 presents a compelling case. However, Indonesia may be proceeding with caution before making its move. Dave Laksono, a senior member of Indonesia's House of Representatives, said that 'unverified claims in conflict zones cannot be used as the sole basis for assessing the effectiveness or failure of a particular weapons system,' according to a May 2025 Defense Security Asia report. 'Even the most advanced jets, such as the F-16, F/A-18, and F-22, have experienced incidents of being shot down or crashed due to certain tactical conditions,' says Laksono. Further, Alfin Bansundoro notes in a June 2024 East Asia Forum article that while Indonesia has previously purchased Chinese weapons, such as CH-4B drones, C-705 and C-802 anti-ship missiles, and TD-2000B self-propelled air defense systems, bilateral territorial disputes over the Natuna Islands cast doubt on future purchases from China. Bansundoro points out that China has sold downgraded weapons to Indonesia several times, mentioning that the former sold the export version of the C-802, known as the YJ-83, which has a reduced range. In addition, he says Indonesia runs the risk of jeopardizing purchases from Western partners if it pushes through with acquiring Chinese weapons, emphasizing the risk of Western economic weaponization. However, Evan Laksmana warns in a May 2024 article for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) that without a well-institutionalized defense partnership, Indonesia's long-term relationship with China will lack strategic heft and balance. Beyond military cooperation, such arms deals often bleed into economic diplomacy. Fighter jets can act as entry points for deeper bilateral entanglements, requiring long-term cooperation in training, maintenance and logistics. Jake Rinaldi argues in a November 2024 article for the US Army War College that China often pairs arms sales with economic perks, such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), of which Indonesia is a member. In the Indonesian context, Rinaldi notes that China's arms sales may aim to establish relationships with senior civilian and military leaders, thereby expanding diplomatic and strategic influence. Pointing out the quid pro quo between China and Indonesia, Oene Marseille and other writers mention in a November 2024 article for CDR Essential Intelligence that China has financed major projects, including the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail, in exchange for strengthened economic ties. In return, Marseille and others state that Indonesia provides China with access to crucial resources, particularly nickel, for electric vehicle production. However, they note that while Indonesia benefits from economic modernization, China leverages these projects to expand its influence in Southeast Asia, intertwining trade with strategic leverage, while Indonesia cautiously balances partnerships. Although Indonesia has planned to purchase F-15EX jets from the US, a decision to purchase them, like a potential acquisition of China's J-10s, may be driven more by political and economic considerations than by Indonesia's actual defense requirements. An April 2023 D-Insights article reports that Indonesia's plan to purchase F-15EX jets from the US is likely to fail due to cost, as the aircraft are too expensive for the country's limited defense budget. Similar budget issues have strained Indonesia's past cooperation with South Korea on next-generation fighter projects, including delayed payments and alleged data leaks, as reported by the Korean JoongAng Daily in May 2025. D-Insights posits that Indonesia may have raised the possibility of F-15EX purchases to keep good relations with the US, ultimately making it a political gesture more than anything else. Even if driven by politics, Indonesia may still attempt to extract tangible benefits from potential F-15EX purchases. Aryojati Ardipandanto argues in an April 2025 article for Info Singkat that Indonesia could use F-15EX purchases to negotiate the 32% 'reciprocal' tariffs Donald Trump imposed on the country in April and has since paused. Ardipandanto says Indonesia needs the F-15EX as part of its defense diplomacy to blunt the effects of US tariffs on its micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), considering the possibility of layoffs in Indonesian companies that export to the US. Whichever jet Indonesia chooses, the decision will have far-reaching consequences, shaping its defense posture, great power alignments and the price it pays for sovereignty.
Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
France's Dassault and India's Tata to produce Rafale fuselage in Hyderabad
NEW DELHI: France's Dassault Aviation and India's Tata Advanced Systems have agreed to manufacture the fuselage of the Rafale fighter aircraft in India, the companies said on Thursday, the first time it will be produced outside France. India, the world's biggest arms importer, has been looking to step up domestic production and boost defence exports, which jumped 12% in the fiscal year to end-March, to $2.76 billion. Tata will set up a production facility in the southern city of Hyderabad to manufacture key structural sections of the Rafale as part of the agreement, the companies said in a statement. The first fuselage sections are expected to roll off the assembly line in the 2028 financial year, with the facility expected to deliver up to two complete fuselages per month, they said. After Pakistan downed Indian jets, Indonesia weighs purchase of China's J-10s The statement did not say how much the deal was worth nor whether the finish products would be for domestic use or export, but Tata Advanced Systems said on X that the fuselage would be 'for India and other global markets'. The Indian Air Force currently operates 36 Rafale fighters. India also signed a deal in April with France – its second-largest arms supplier - to buy 26 naval versions of the jets for $7 billion, which are expected to be delivered by 2030. The South Asian nation is looking to modernise its military and boost domestic weapons' production, particularly to strengthen its defences against neighbours Pakistan and China. India used fighter jets in four-days of fierce clashes with Pakistan last month, after a deadly attack by assailants that killed 26 men in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Pakistan's defence minister had said three of India's Rafale fighter jets had been shot down during the fighting but did not share any evidence. One US official told Reuters that at least one downed Indian aircraft was a Rafale. Dassault Aviation had declined to comment. India's chief of defence staff told Reuters in an interview last week that India suffered losses in the air, but declined to give details.
India Gazette
16-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Pak indictrinates civilians to believe in mafia superiority"
Vienna [Austria], May 16 (ANI): Tom Cooper, Military aviation analyst and historian, said that it is a classic strategy of Pakistan to indoctrinate its people and make them believe in Pakistan mafia superiority. Cooper said that Pakistan is spreading misinformation among its civilians that Pakistan can defeat India with its fighter jets from China. 'This messaging is classic for Pakistan. Essentially, we have a situation where the country and its population has been indoctrinated to believe in Pakistani and mafia superiority vis a vis India and correspondingly military superiority vis a vis India and some kind impression that the Pakistani armed forces are invincible,' he said. 'And especially in comparison to India that India cannot defeat the Pakistani Air Force, the ground forces, navy, and Pakistan is strong and perfectly armed with latest equipment from USA and China with F-16s and GF-17s and J-10s. This latest Chinese air to air missiles and so on, and this is exactly the same,' he said. While speaking on Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and General Munir, standing on a tank for photo ops and touring a military base when they couldn't fight a frontal battle with India, Cooper said that it is a part of their lies to build the morale of the nation. 'So when they climb on the top of the tank, they must rebuild the morale and the self-confidence of nation. They are the first to know what is the actual situation. The first to know that is the title general of Pakistani Armed Forces, and the second, because he has to inform the Prime Minister, of course, so they both know they have been defeated,' he said. Cooper said that though the two know that the facts are untrue, they still declared a victory. 'They both know that related rumours, at least if not be true. The full two are going to reach the public sooner or later. Therefore, they must climb on, on the tank climb on the, the tank and declare a victory. Yeah, what is better for that purpose but standing on a tank,' he said. Cooper while talking to ANI said that India hit exactly where it hurts, even without hitting nuclear targets. 'It is fascinating to watch how Indian top military commanders have precisely, methodically, systematically targeted very selected points, not enter air bases. They're not after destroying entire bases, they're not under destroying cities, the least,' he said. 'But after striking precisely selected points at selected air bases, they could have hit anywhere almost in Pakistan, but the point was to, hit where it really hurts. And so you have, for example, you have this a trailer mounted a command site at the Noor Khan Air Base, which was smashed entirely,' Cooper added. He said that India tracked precise movements of Pakistani personnel and caught the aircrafts inside the hangar. 'Hangars has been hit with aircraft at the inside. These hangers targeted because Indian armed forces were able to follow the movement of specific Pakistani aircraft, landing, rolling into the hanger, and then there was an attack by Indian armed forces and it caught the aircraft still inside the hangar and also the personnel of the unit operating the aircraft,' he said. Cooper said that there is clear evidence of victory of Indian victory against Pakistan against Pakistani claims. 'So Indian armed forces were striking very precisely against very selected targets and there is clear evidence for success in this regards. On the contrary, by all the Pakistani claims, it is actually almost exactly like back in 2019 during the Balakot affairs. Pakistani establishment, Pakistani government, Pakistani armed forces are issuing one statement after the other, which is proven as lie,' he said. (ANI)
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
China's J-36 Tailless Stealth Fighter Seen Flying For Second Time
The largest of China's two new tailless stealth fighters has flown again. This is just the second time we have evidence of it in the air, the first coming on December 26th, presumably during its inaugural flight. That day Beijing's two new and previously never seen before heavy fighter designs were photographed and recorded in the sky. You can read our highly detailed analysis of both of those aircraft in this special feature. The latest test flight imagery offers new views of the massive tactical jet. The CAC J-36 has made its second test flight. This time, it flew solo no chase plane accompanying China's 6th generation fighter jet.#J36 #China #StealthFighter — International Defence Analysis (@Defence_IDA) March 17, 2025 The CAC J-36 has made its second test flight. This time, it flew solo no chase plane accompanying China's 6th generation fighter jet.#J36 #China #StealthFighter — International Defence Analysis (@Defence_IDA) March 17, 2025 The aircraft seen today has been unofficially dubbed the 'J-36.' Built by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, it was first spotted flying out of the company's plant in its namesake city. After reviewing satellite imagery from Planet Labs, it's clear that a shelter capable of containing the aircraft's large wingspan was erected on the flight test line between November and December of last year. This allows the aircraft to be prepared for flight and final checks performed with minimal time exposed to onlookers and satellites above. It also keeps the jet out of the weather, which will be important for continued testing. The new shelter is part of a line of 10 smaller ones that are used to accommodate existing fighter aircraft, such as the J-10s and J-20s that are manufactured at the plant. A very similar structure that includes an access-controlled barrier around it, presumably to block line-of-sight and to restrict access, was constructed on the airfield's primary apron in August. The prototype aircraft would likely live here for servicing with it being moved to the other shelter prior to test sorties. As far as the video and images we are seeing today, two views are of note, at least so far. We also just have to add the disclaimer that it's always possible that images that emerge online can be altered or faked, especially when it comes to Chinese military hardware. While that's a possibility, these images look legit and line up with similar ones we saw from the jet's first test flight. First off, there is the side view seen below, which gives us a bit better look at the dorsal inlet and canopy. These are two unique features on the type. The canopy is very much streamlined with the top mold line of the forward fuselage. The idea that this aircraft leverages a side-by-side crew seating concept remains strong, especially given its very broad nose section. We also get more evidence that the dorsal intake uses a diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) design, with the prominent hump and forward-raked upper area seen in this profile shot. Second, we got the shot below of the J-36 in triple reheat during terminal operations (going around or taking off). This is an impressive and unique sight as the jet's three-engine layout is certainly exotic by tactical jet standards. The J-36's large twin split ruddervons on each wing are also seen in this image. You can read all about these features and much more in our original very in-depth analysis of the J-36 and China's other next-generation fighter offering linked here. Just as with pretty much all new Chinese military hardware of great interest, the quality and quantity of 'candid' images of them undergoing testing will ramp up as trials commence. So we should see much more of the J-36, and in the process, we should be able to answer additional lingering questions about the enigmatic jet. Contact the author: Tyler@
