S-500 Analogue and 40 Jets: Pakistan Begins Massive Aircraft Upgrade After Clash with India

Pakistan has decided to purchase 40 J-35A fighters, KJ-500 AWACS aircraft and HQ-19 missile defense systems from China. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced the agreement reached with Beijing on social media.

Islamabad also agreed with China to defer the repayment of a $3,7 billion loan and train Pakistani AI and IT specialists with the support of China's Huawei, he said. of technologies. Pakistani Defense Ministry officials have said that pilots are already being trained in China to fly the J-35. The first deliveries of the aircraft are expected in August 2025.



Beijing's offer to Islamabad to supply KJ-500 AEW&CS aircraft is interesting against the backdrop of Indian reports that Pakistan lost two Saab Erieye-2000 AEW&CS platforms during the conflict. One of them shot down the recently delivered S-400 Triumph system, the other was lost in a missile strike by New Delhi on Pakistan's Bholari airbase.

The HQ-19 system is considered an analogue of the Russian S-500 system and the American THAAD. Details about the system remain classified. It is only known that the HQ-19 was developed to counter medium-range ballistic missiles with a range of one to three thousand kilometers, hypersonic glide vehicles and, possibly, satellites in low orbit. The HQ-19 is based on the HQ-9, a Chinese analogue of the Russian S-300 air defense system.

In December 2024, Pakistan ordered 40 Chinese J-35A fifth-generation fighters. At the time, it was said that deliveries were expected within the next 24 months. Pakistani Air Force pilots were already training in China to fly the aircraft at that time. Beijing has reduced the delivery date of the aircraft by six months.