Iran's pursuit of Chinese jets: A strategy beyond Russian Su‑35s
In recent months, Iran has been making significant efforts to acquire Chinese JF-17 aircraft despite having recently received dozens of Su-35 aircraft from Russia. We explain the reasons behind this move and detail the performance of these aircraft.
According to the Defense Express portal, Iran is actively pursuing the acquisition of Chinese JF-17 aircraft. Recently, Brigadier General Hamid Vahedi, the commander of the Iranian air force, led a delegation of senior military officials to observe the Indus Shield 2024 air exercises.
Additionally, Hamid Vahedi was reportedly scheduled to meet with his Pakistani counterpart, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar, in Islamabad. These talks might be an attempt to bypass China's earlier refusal to sell J-10C aircraft a few months ago. Negotiations reportedly stalled due to disagreements over payment methods: China insisted on financial transactions while Tehran wanted to pay with oil supplies.
It appears that Iran is not sufficiently satisfied with the delivered Su-35 aircraft. More likely, Iran is looking for a second supplier that does not struggle with timely deliveries or spare parts production. Russia has historically been unreliable in this regard, and the situation has worsened due to sanctions.
JF-17 Thunder — a light multi-role aircraft
Iran is interested in the Pakistani-Chinese aircraft, likely to replace its outdated fleet, which includes the F-5, F-4 Phantom, F-7M (a Chinese clone of the MiG-21), and Mirage F-1 (a total of approximately 177 aircraft). These light aircraft cannot easily be replaced by the Su-35, which functions more as a supplement to the F-14 Tomcat.
The JF-17 Thunder was developed at the turn of the 21st century, with its first prototype flights in 2003 and mass production starting in 2007. Pakistan has already produced 150 of these aircraft. The JF-17 Thunder has also been purchased by the air forces of countries such as Myanmar, Nigeria, and Iraq.
The JF-17 features a length exceeding 46 feet, a wingspan of 31 feet, and a take-off weight of 29,800 lbs. For comparison, the well-known F-16C Block 50 weighs over 41,800 lbs in a similar configuration. The JF-17 achieves a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 and can carry up to 8,800 lbs of armaments on eight pylons. It is powered by a single RD-93 engine.
This aircraft is equipped with a modern radar featuring active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology and access to modern armaments, including a wide range of guided bombs weighing up to 2,000 lbs, anti-ship missiles, and air-to-air weapons. In this latter category, PL-15 missiles with ramjet engines, essentially a copy of the European MBDA Meteor missile, can be particularly threatening.
If Iran acquires these aircraft along with an armament package, they could, in conjunction with the delivered Su-35s, significantly increase the threat to Israeli aviation over the next few years.
