The Chinese Ministry of Defense officially and quite strongly denied the transfer of the first J-10C Vigorous Dragon fighters to Egypt. This was a response to a number of Arab media reports about such a strengthening of Egypt. At the same time, the official refutation took place almost two weeks after this information began to circulate.
At the same time, the Egyptian Ministry of Defense remains completely silent on the possible receipt of fighter jets. Moreover, neither Cairo nor Beijing has officially confirmed the existence of a contract for the purchase of these machines. And the first unconfirmed information about the existence of such an agreement appeared in the spring of 2024.
It was also noted that these aircraft were supposed to replace the F-16s, which generally form the basis of the country’s fleet, because Egypt has 32 F-16A / B and 175 F-16Cs / D. And the only logical explanation why Cairo chose the Chinese J-10C is access to long-range missiles, because even the French Rafale went without Meteor. And Egypt purchased 66 units in three iterations.
Although the decision to replace 41 Russian MiG-29Ms may look more logical. Because their real combat capability is doubtful, and the issue of maintenance is quite open.
At the same time, as of now, there has been no confirmation of the very existence of an agreement between China and Egypt on the purchase of the J-10C Vigorous Dragon. Although some sources claimed that it was signed in early September 2024 during the first Egypt International Airshow. At the same time, there is not even approximate information on the number and cost of aircraft.
Thus, if there really is a contract between China and Egypt for the J-10C fighter, it is currently more than secret. And if we are really talking about replacing the F-16, then we are talking about the largest mysterious order for hundreds of fighters. At the same time, it is this scenario that even emphasizes the fact that the Ministry of Defense of the People’s Republic of China denied only the supply of aircraft, and not the existence of agreements in general.
The J-10 is a single-engine 4+ generation fighter with a maximum take-off weight of 19,227 kg, which is believed to be based on a number of solutions from the Israeli IAI Lavi. It was put into operation in 2006. The J-10C version appeared in 2018 and features a new Chinese WS-10B engine, instead of the Russian AL-31FN, updated electronics, a wider range of weapons and less visibility.
And in the fall of 2024, a version of the J-10CE was shown with an expanded range of long-range high-precision weapons. At the same time, the “E” in the name could also be like Egypt, or simply Export or Enhanced.
The only known export buyer of the J-10C is currently only Pakistan. At the end of 2021, the country ordered 25 of these aircraft. And already in March 2022, the first batch of six cars had already been transferred. That is, when it comes to the purchase of Chinese weapons, the waiting periods can really be quite minimalistic.