Reports that France’s advanced Rafale fighter jet came off second best against the China-made J-10C Vigorous Dragon in a dogfight between the Indian and Pakistan air forces on May 7 attracted global attention.
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) claimed to have shot down multiple Indian Rafale jets during the aerial clash. If confirmed, it would be the first combat loss for the Dassault-made aircraft.
More significantly, it would signal a victory for the Chinese military asset over the Nato-standard mainstay Western fighter in its first battlefield encounter.
While Chinese maker Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group has put the J-10C on the international market at an estimated price of US$50 million each, so far Pakistan is the only operator of the jet outside China.
In contrast, the Rafale’s customers include Greece, Croatia, Egypt, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Last month, India signed a US$7.4 billion contract with France to add 26 more Rafales to its fleet.
Both the Rafale and J-10C are 4.5-generation fighters, which means they feature significant improvements on less-advanced aircraft but do not fully reach fifth-generation standard.
The French fighter is widely considered to be one of the world’s most capable aircraft in this class, but how does the J-10C compare?
