China’s confirmation that its export-configured J-10CE fighter jet has achieved its first combat victory marks a pivotal moment in modern aerial warfare, signalling both the maturation of Chinese aerospace engineering and a structural shift in the global fighter aircraft market amid intensifying great-power competition.
The announcement by the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND), which included the J-10CE’s battlefield performance among China’s Top 10 National Defence Science and Technology Achievements for 2025, represents the first official acknowledgement that a Chinese-exported combat aircraft has decisively engaged and defeated advanced Western-origin fighters in live combat.
“In mid-May, the country’s export-oriented J-10CE fighter jet achieved its first combat victory, shooting down multiple aircraft in air combat without suffering any losses itself,” SASTIND said in a statement. The wording is notable not only for its clarity, but also for the fact that it constitutes a state-endorsed validation of Chinese air-combat lethality, rather than an unverified foreign military claim or media report.
Amplified by state outlets including Xinhua and ECNS, the disclosure emerged from the brief yet highly consequential Indo-Pakistani aerial confrontation known as Operation Sindoor, an episode that compressed decades of theoretical debate over beyond-visual-range (BVR) combat into a matter of days.
According to Pakistani accounts, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) J-10CE fighters neutralised multiple Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft without losses of their own. If accurate, the engagement represents the first instance in which Chinese avionics, sensors, missiles, and networked combat doctrine were tested against Western platforms in a peer-level air battle.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar underscored the broader implications when he said that PAF fighters had brought down Rafales and that “they [the Chinese] were pleased,” a remark widely interpreted as evidence of how closely Beijing monitored the operational performance of its export flagship under real combat stress.
The implications extend far beyond the subcontinent. For dozens of air forces reassessing procurement strategies, the J-10CE’s combat debut reshapes calculations about cost-effective alternatives to Western fighters that increasingly exceed USD 100 million per unit.
More critically, China now possesses one of the most powerful marketing assets in the global arms trade: battlefield validation. Historically, real combat performance has been the single most influential factor driving fighter aircraft export success, often outweighing technical specifications on paper.
As geopolitical fragmentation deepens and arms embargoes proliferate, the J-10CE’s performance positions China as a credible, combat-proven supplier capable of challenging entrenched Western and Russian dominance across multiple regions.
The Chengdu J-10CE is the culmination of nearly four decades of Chinese aerospace ambition. Originally conceived during the Cold War as a lightweight interceptor, the J-10 has evolved into a multirole combat aircraft capable of contesting advanced fourth-plus-generation Western fighters.
Developed by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the programme reflects Beijing’s long-term strategy to eliminate reliance on foreign combat aircraft while building an export-oriented defence industrial base.
The export-configured J-10CE incorporates structural refinements, upgraded avionics architecture, and enhanced weapons integration compared with earlier domestic variants. These upgrades enable it to function as a fully networked node within modern sensor-fusion and integrated air-defence environments.
Powered by the WS-10B Taihang turbofan, producing roughly 113 kilonewtons of thrust with afterburner, the aircraft can exceed Mach 2.0 and achieve a combat radius of more than 1,150 kilometres. Its delta-canard design, paired with a digital fly-by-wire system, provides high manoeuvrability while preserving energy during BVR engagements.
Central to its sensor suite is the KLJ-7A active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, reportedly capable of tracking multiple targets beyond 150 kilometres and guiding several missiles simultaneously via secure datalinks.
With 11 hardpoints and a payload capacity of up to seven tonnes, the J-10CE can carry advanced air-to-air missiles, precision-guided munitions, and stand-off weapons. Its integration with the PL-15 BVR missile—believed to have a range exceeding 200 kilometres—fundamentally alters engagement geometry by compressing adversary reaction time.
Crucially, all of this comes at an estimated unit cost of USD 40–50 million, dramatically undercutting Western rivals while offering comparable lethality on paper.
Pakistan’s decision to procure the J-10CE in 2020 followed a reassessment triggered by the 2019 Balakot crisis, when Islamabad identified gaps in its long-range air-combat deterrence relative to India’s acquisition of the Rafale.
By May 2025, the Pentagon’s China Military Power Report confirmed the delivery of 20 J-10CE aircraft to Pakistan, with a total order of 36 expected by early 2026. The fighter now forms a cornerstone of Pakistan’s evolving air doctrine, supplementing the JF-17 Thunder and enabling the retirement of ageing Mirage III and V fleets.
PAF Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu described the aircraft as a “strategic equaliser,” highlighting its role in restoring deterrence along the Line of Control.
Operational integration focused heavily on BVR proficiency, sensor fusion, and cooperative engagement with ground-based early warning and air-defence systems, including Chinese-supplied surface-to-air missiles. By 2022, operational squadrons had reportedly achieved full mission readiness.
Operation Sindoor in mid-May 2025 marked a rare real-world confrontation between Chinese-exported airpower and Western-origin fighters. Triggered by cross-border incidents and escalating retaliatory strikes, Indian aircraft—including Rafales—conducted deep penetration missions.
Pakistan scrambled J-10CEs to intercept, marking the first documented use of Chinese AESA-equipped fighters and long-range missiles against Western platforms in combat.
Pakistani officials claim a lopsided kill ratio, asserting that multiple Indian aircraft were downed without PAF losses. Indian responses were cautious, with anonymous sources acknowledging aircraft losses while attributing them to intelligence failures and underestimation of Pakistan’s BVR capabilities.
Fragments identified as PL-15 missiles recovered near crash sites have been cited as circumstantial evidence supporting Pakistani claims, though full independent verification remains limited.
Regardless of contested details, the engagement has altered perceptions. In South Asia, it compresses Indian decision-making timelines and reinforces Pakistan’s deterrence posture. Analysts say it raises questions about survivability in environments dominated by long-range sensors and missiles.
Beyond the region, the episode has implications for Taiwan, the Middle East, and Africa—areas where Chinese doctrine emphasises layered denial and long-range engagement.
For Beijing, the J-10CE’s validation strengthens defence diplomacy and bolsters claims of technological self-reliance. SASTIND explicitly noted that the achievement enhances the “international competitiveness” of Chinese aviation products.
Interest in the aircraft has reportedly intensified from Egypt, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Iran, and Bangladesh, driven by budget constraints, sanctions risk, and the appeal of combat-proven systems without political conditionality.
China’s confirmation of the J-10CE’s maiden combat triumph marks a watershed in global air-combat history. It signals that Chinese aerospace systems have crossed a critical threshold—from theoretical challengers to combat-validated alternatives—reshaping assumptions about air superiority, deterrence, and the future balance of power in the global fighter market.
Beyond tactics, the episode underscores a broader shift: air dominance in the coming decades will hinge less on platform pedigree and more on the effectiveness of integrated, networked kill chains. For defence planners worldwide, the message is clear—the era of unchallenged Western monopoly in high-end air combat is drawing to a close.
