China’s J-10CE has foreign buyers, but not yet a market

Uzbekistan’s recent confirmation that China’s J-10CE fighters have entered into service in its air force ended months of speculation. It is the latest of three developments that include Pakistan’s use of J-10CEs in combat last year and Bangladesh’s draft procurement paper for the Chinese aircraft.

Read separately, each looks like a win for the J-10CE. Taken together, however, they show something narrower: the Chinese aircraft is gaining export traction without yet winning a clean contest against a Western rival.

Pakistan’s file is the one that changed the sales pitch. In May last year, Pakistan Air Force said its J-10CE fighter jets had fired at Indian aircraft during the conflict that followed India’s “Operation Sindoor” strikes. Pakistani officials claimed that five Indian aircraft were shot down, including three Rafales.