If India is on the verge of acquiring fifth-generation fighter aircraft, can Pakistan be far behind? With the decks cleared for the Indian Air Force (IAF) to co-produce 127 PAK-FA stealth fighters with Russia for 25 billion dollars, Islamabad has also declared its intention to catch up.



In December 2015, Pakistan Air Force Chief Sohail Aman had said that Pakistan was negotiating with Lockheed Martin of the US, exploring options to buy the F-35 stealth fighter. A week later, however, the Air Force Chief denied he was talking to Lockheed, exposing Pakistan’s limitations in acquiring advanced military technologies from the West.

Since Pakistan has had a hard time getting even outdated F-16s cleared by the US, the chances of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) being allowed to come within a 50-feet radius of the F-35 is smaller than small. Also, considering how closely Pakistan and China work together in the military sphere, the risk of American technology being passed on to the Chinese is very real.

But even as the common Pakistani has been prepared to eat grass, the military will stop at nothing to buy or licence-produce fifth-generation fighters. If America doesn’t sell the F-35, then Pakistan will get the poor man’s stealth jet from China.

China has two stealth projects going concurrently. The larger aircraft, the J-20 based on the American F-22, is for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) while the smaller J-31 (based on stolen blueprints for the F-35) seems to be the export model.

As Pakistan is China’s test market, the PAF could well be the J-31’s first foreign customer. To be sure, the nearly bankrupt Pakistani economy won’t be able to afford these expensive jets. But China, which has been a reliable supplier of low-cost weaponry to Pakistan, could provide the J-31 at cost price. Alternatively, Islamabad could get grants from the US or Saudi Arabia. One way or the other, the PAF will get the J-31.