Bangladesh plans to buy 20 Chinese fighter jets worth $2.2B: official

• Pakistan’s military said Chinese weapons systems performed exceptionally well during recent operations

DHAKA, Bangladesh / KARACHI, Pakistan

Bangladesh plans to purchase 20 Chinese-made fighter jets worth around $2.2 billion to modernize its air force and bolster national air defense capacity, an interim government official said.

Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, youth and sports adviser in the interim administration, said in a statement on US social media company 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 defense 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.

Last week, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh said, "there was clear evidence of long-range Indian strikes (inside Pakistan), including one of more than 300 km, destroying either an AEW&C or a SIGINT aircraft, along with five fighters of the F-16 and JF-17 class."

In a related development, US defense contractor Raytheon will supply Pakistan with advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM), the US Defense Department said on Sept. 30.