Pakistan officially inducts J-10C Vigorous Dragon fighters into service

 

Some of the new J-10C Vigorous Dragon fighters inducted to the Pakistan Air Force. Photo c/o Janes.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has formally inducted the new Chengdu J-10C "Vigorous Dragon" fighter aircraft into its fleet, which will boost the air combat capabilities of the country.

The first six of the new fighters were delivered recently, and were officially inducted into service at the PAF's Minhas Kamra Airbase in Punjab, with the ceremony attended by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The new Chinese-made fighters were assigned with the PAF's No. 15 Squadron.

No exact quantity has been confirmed by Pakistan, although it was believed that the country ordered at least 25 units from China.

Pakistan is the second country in the world to operate the J-10, with China being the other country, whose People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) operating the aircraft.

The J-10C Vigorous Dragon is classified as a medium-weight, all-weather fighter aircraft, and can be equipped with a variety of 4th-generation ait-to-air missiles including the Chinee PL-10 short range missile, and the PL-15 beyond visual range missile.

It is also equipped with an Active Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) radar.

The PAF currently operates a variety of fighters including American-made F-16A/B/C/D Fighting Falcons, French Mirage III and Mirage V, and Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder, and the Chinese-made F-7 Skybolt.




[1] Air Force Technology
[2] Flight Global
[3] Asia Pacific Defense Journal