Weapons ban still in place for 5 years
J-10 Thread IV
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
Weapons ban still in place for 5 years
I will believe this when I see official confirmation from the PRC...not before.
DEBKA has a long history of stupendous claims...that then do not follow through. And as stated, they often rank up there with WANTCHINATIMES in that regard.
Maybe it will...maybe it will not. I will wait for the Chinese to confirm any such deal.
Time will tell.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
Even if such a deal was on the cards, I would expect JF17s to be offered rather than J10s, unless Iran has bad relations with Pakistan to take the JF17s off the table?
The Chinese said "no" when Iran wanted J8s because that was China's best fighter at the time (even thought the J10 was in the works), so its very doubtful they would say "yes" to J10s now, since its pretty much the same situation, just with different fighters.
With JF17s, Iran will have a very capable multirole fighter (as opposed to the air superiority focused J10) with a very comprehensive weapons package that, most importantly, they will probably get good ToT on, and probably their own production line for.
But in all honesty, I would expect China to pass up on weapons deals with Iran because it wants to maintain good relations with the Saudi dominated Sunni oil producing Gulf States. Its the Russians who would be the first to sale Iran weapons I think.
Who knows, maybe they floating the idea of a major fighter deal with Iran as some sort of marketing ploy to get the Saudis to commit to a JF17 buy themselves to head off such a deal.
But most likely its just random speculation and internet rumormongering.
The Chinese said "no" when Iran wanted J8s because that was China's best fighter at the time (even thought the J10 was in the works), so its very doubtful they would say "yes" to J10s now, since its pretty much the same situation, just with different fighters.
With JF17s, Iran will have a very capable multirole fighter (as opposed to the air superiority focused J10) with a very comprehensive weapons package that, most importantly, they will probably get good ToT on, and probably their own production line for.
But in all honesty, I would expect China to pass up on weapons deals with Iran because it wants to maintain good relations with the Saudi dominated Sunni oil producing Gulf States. Its the Russians who would be the first to sale Iran weapons I think.
Who knows, maybe they floating the idea of a major fighter deal with Iran as some sort of marketing ploy to get the Saudis to commit to a JF17 buy themselves to head off such a deal.
But most likely its just random speculation and internet rumormongering.
I personally think this is nothing but a rumor.
antiterror13
Brigadier
yeap, not worth discussing!
SinoSoldier
Colonel
In reality, Iran does have poor relations with Pakistan, especially since the latter is aligned with KSA.
The J-10 is hardly China's best, especially with the induction of the J-15/11B/16.
That JF-17 loses virtually most of its operability once it meets Iran's lack of AWACS and the other pieces of equipment needed to support the fleet.
I sincerely doubt China is willing to export their SAC-flankers, that would ruffle Russia's feathers too much.
So in terms of actually exportable fighters which are mature and in mass service, J-10 definitely is the best China has on offer.
What are you talking about, lack of AWACS will be a problem for Iran regardless if they're fielding a JF-17 or J-10 or a flanker or a UFO, but it won't change the weapons suite (especially air to ground) that JF-17 is already integrated with and compatible with.
And of course any purchase of an aircraft would come with sufficient equipment and spares to support the operation of the aircraft.
SinoSoldier
Colonel
True; my post was merely responding to plawolf's claim that China won't export the J-10 due to it being the PLAAF's "best".
And hence why Iran probably won't be looking into new aircraft for a while. Iran will certainly not make the most out of the Thunders if they are used as standalone platforms, and with embargoes hitting Tehran left, right, and center, it would be difficult to secure the necessities.
The word "best" is probably best expanded to be understood as "best capability that other countries do not have knowledge about". Many air forces fly flankers so certain parameters of their performance may be well known, but on the other hand only China flies J-10s and no one else so I'm sure the air force would prefer it be kept that way as long as possible.
I also wouldn't be so quick to doubt the J-10 variants as being superior to even the new SAC-flankers because that depends on the circumstances of a mission. Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better.
...So you're talking about is not why JF-17 is "wrong" for Iran so much as why Iran won't be in the market for buying fighters in the first place.
But the point plawolf is making is that if Iran were in the market for buying fighters on a realistic budget, the variety of weapons already integrated with JF-17, ToT and the ability to sell an entire manufacturing line at relatively low cost is definitely a plus... if China were willing to sell.
In the latter case, lack of AEW&C is no reason to not buy a fleet of fighters given they are the foundation of any serious air force, and lack of parts would not be an issue because any purchase of an aircraft would be accompanied by spare parts and equipment in the package to begin with.
It is possible that US Congress will reject the recent accord between P5+1 and Iran but that will not mean that the sanctions can be maintained. Iran will then become a member of SCO besides its neighbour Pakistan. Iran might well be buying radar aircraft from Russia or even China. So cooperation with Pakistan on JF-17, which would take some time to organize, would take place in a very different environment than the current one.