Egypt Swaps U.S. F-16 for China’s J-10C Fighter Jets

According to Chinese media The Paper on September 16, the Egyptian Air Force will purchase Chinese fighter jets to replace America-made F-16s.

The Egyptian Air Force plans to purchase the J-10C fighter jet, produced by China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. The aircraft can carry 5,600 kg of either missiles or bombs and can fly at a maximum speed of 1.8 Mach. Its combat radius is 550 km, while the flight distance between Cairo and Tel Aviv is 402 km. This means that if Israel has an airshow, Egypt’s J-10C would only need 11 minutes to bring plenty of gifts to the party.

While Egypt’s specific procurement quantity has not been disclosed, Voice of America claimed that “China is expanding and targeting the Middle East regional market.” However, according to information disclosed by other American media, the Middle East regional market is evidently being messed up by America’s unreasonable pricing strategy.

Currently, Egypt operates 220 F-16s, making it the fourth-largest F-16 operator globally. Washington offered Cairo an upgraded version, the F-16V, but the cost was deemed excessively high. For instance, the U.S. sold 66 F-16Vs to Taiwan for $8 billion, equating to $121 million per jet. In contrast, Pakistan signed a $1.4 billion deal with China in 2009 to buy a reported 36 J-10Bs, with a unit price of only $39 million.

Compared to the products the U.S. is trying to sell to Egypt, Chinese fighter jets are not only half the price but also perform better. As BulgarianMilitary.com reported, “The J-10C offers superior combat capabilities compared to the enhanced F-16 model, all at a comparable cost.” Military Watch Magazine also noted that “The close to 200 F-16s that form the backbone of the fleet are considered among the least capable fourth-generation fighters in the world, and have been heavily downgraded and restricted to using obsolete Cold War era weaponry—and no beyond visual range air-to-surface weapons whatsoever.”

The F16 is an excellent fighter jet that has been tested in actual combat. However, due to relations with Israel, the U.S. has imposed varying degrees of air combat capability restrictions on the fighter jets sold to Egypt, preventing them from posing a significant threat to the Israeli Air Force. For example, the U.S. has refused to sell Egypt the AIM-120 missile that should originally paired with F16s, leaving Egyptian pilots with AIM-7 missiles with a range of less than 70 km, compared to Israeli pilots who have missiles with ranges of at least 105 km.

On the other hand, China’s J-10C fighter jet can carry the PL-15 missile, which would allow pilots to strike enemies 300 km away. And the relationship between China and Israel is obviously not as close as that between the U.S.

According to the report from Eurasian Times, China is also promoting its latest stealth fighter jet, the FC-31, to the global market, which has garnered attention in the Middle East. Through purchasing F-35 from the US, Israel is currently the only country in the Middle East with stealth fighter jets. However, this advantage may not last much longer.

China’s J35/FC-31 stealth fighter jet