‘Not familiar’: Beijing’s response to Pakistan’s claim of using China-made J-10C fighter jets against India’s air defence

The Chinese foreign ministry has said it was not familiar with the matter that Pakistan used J-10C fighter jets made by China. This comes after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s claim that they used J-10C jets to shoot down Indian warplanes. 

When asked about the same, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in a regular media briefing in Beijing that they were “not familiar with the matter”. 

Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar told the Pakistani Parliament: “Our jet fighters…shot down Indian Rafales, three Rafales [that] are French. Ours were J-10C. All of these are jet fighters in collaboration with China.”

The J-10 single-engine, multirole combat aircraft was designed and made by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. The J-10C is the most upgraded of the series and boasts better engines and more advanced AESA radar. Outside of China, Pakistan Air Force is the only other force to operate the J-10C fighter jets, as mentioned in South China Morning Post. 

Despite Pakistan’s claims, the Indian Air Force’s S-400 ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ air defence missile systems were successfully deployed against Pakistani drones and missiles during the night of May 7–8. Multiple aerial threats targeting Indian military installations were intercepted.

Official reports state that these advanced systems were fired as part of India’s defensive operations to neutralise incoming threats aimed at 15 military targets across northern and western India. Key bases in Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Phalodi, and Bhuj were among those protected.

The S-400 Triumf, known in IAF service as Sudarshan Chakra, is one of the most advanced long-range air defence systems globally. Built by Russia and integrated into India’s strategic air defence command, it can detect and engage a wide range of airborne threats including stealth aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, and tactical ballistic missiles.

(With agency inputs)