Bangladesh plans to purchase 20 Chinese-made fighter jets worth around $2.2 billion to modernise its air force and bolster national air defence capacity, an interim government official said.
Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, an official in the interim administration, said in a statement on X that Dhaka is considering acquiring J-10CE multirole fighter jets from China under a government-to-government deal.
“The base price of each aircraft is $60 million, or $1.2 billion for the fleet. Training, equipment, and freight add another $820 million, and other maintenance costs will make it $2.2 billion. The payments would be spread across 10 fiscal years,” the English-language daily The Business Standard reported, citing official documents.
The J-10CE, a fourth-generation multirole fighter developed by China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, has recently drawn attention after reportedly downing several French-made Rafale jets of the Indian Air Force during the India–Pakistan clashes in May.
Pakistan’s air force reportedly deployed the J-10C during retaliatory operations following India’s May 7 strike.
Bangladeshi interim leader Muhammad Yunus discussed the possible purchase during his visit to China earlier this year, and Beijing “responded positively”, according to government sources.
The Bangladesh Air Force currently operates 212 aircraft, including 44 fighter jets, of which 36 are Chinese-made F-7s.
Pakistan’s military has praised the performance of Chinese defence platforms during the May conflict.
“Of course, lately, recent Chinese platforms, they’ve demonstrated exceptionally well,” Pakistan army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told Bloomberg News in an interview published Monday.
According to The Guardian, Pakistan’s deployment of J-10Cs “marked the first time the Chinese planes and the PL-15 missiles they were carrying have been used in combat anywhere in the world.”
Pakistan said it shot down seven Indian aircraft in retaliation, including French-made Rafales.
In a related development, US defence contractor Raytheon will supply Pakistan with advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM), the US Defence Department said on September 30.
