At present, the air forces of all countries in the world are striving to move towards the "era of fifth-generation aircraft", especially after the gradual popularization of the F-35 fighter developed by the United States, the air forces of many regions of the world are trying their best to introduce or develop their own fifth-generation aircraft when they are facing the practical pressure of fifth-generation aircraft. At the beginning of this year, our good neighbor and good partner Pakistan Railway has publicly announced that it will introduce the J-31 fighter as the next generation of fighters for the Pakistani Air Force. According to the chief of staff of the Pakistani Railway Air Force, the "foundation has been laid" for the Pakistani Railway Air Force to purchase J-31 fighters, which "will become part of the Pakistan Air Force fleet in the near future."
Although the statement of the chief of staff of the Pakistani Air Force can be said to have officially confirmed the news that it will introduce the J-31 fighter as its next-generation fighter, according to the latest information, there is a country that is likely to get the J-31 fifth-generation aircraft ahead of Pakistan, and this international is Egypt.
According to a report on the website of United States's "Defense Blog" on July 23, Egypt Air Force Commander Gavad recently visited China and met with relevant Chinese personnel. According to US media sources, the Egypt Air Force's trip is to discuss with China about the introduction of advanced fighters, and the US media believe that Egypt is likely to introduce J-31 fighters before Pakistan Railway, and thus become the first overseas user of J-31 fighters. So, why is Egypt so anxious to introduce fifth-generation aircraft, even more anxious than Pakistan Railway? In fact, there is a certain basis for this.
Although on paper, the strength of the Egypt Air Force can be described as quite strong, but the Egypt Air Force does have many shortcomings. The Egypt Air Force claims to have the world's "fourth-largest fleet of F-16 fighters" and is equipped with advanced fighters, including more than 200 F-16s. However, the Egypt Air Force's F-16 is mainly an early version of the model, not only the airborne avionics are already relatively backward, but also cannot carry the most advanced long-range air-to-air missiles of the US military. In addition, the rest of Egypt's Mirage series fighters, MiG-29 fighters, etc. cannot compete with the latest four-and-a-half-generation fighters, let alone fifth-generation aircraft.
The strongest fighter of the Egypt Air Force is the Rafale fighter introduced from France, although the performance of this fighter is also good, known as the "four and a half generations" fighter, but it is really not comparable with the real fifth generation aircraft. And Egypt's biggest opponent, Israel is not only equipped with an improved version of the F-16, but also F-15 heavy fighters and F-35 stealth fighters, if the Egypt Air Force does not get the fifth generation of stealth fighters, then the pressure of the Israel Air Force on the Egypt Air Force is obvious.
In contrast, the pressure on the Pakistani Air Force is actually less. At present, the strongest fighter of the India Air Force, the opponent of the Pakistani Air Force, is also the Rafale of France, but the number is only 36, and the largest number of fighters of the India Air Force is the Su-30 introduced from Russia, and India also has a large number of MiG fighters. The Pakistani Air Force not only has a J-10C fighter whose performance is not inferior to Rafale, but also the latest improved version of the Thunder Dragon fighter, the Thunder 3 fighter, also uses a lot of advanced technology, some even fifth-generation aircraft technology, and also has the power to fight in the face of the India Air Force. Moreover, India's current fifth-generation aircraft plan can be described as difficult, not only India's own self-developed fifth-generation aircraft has not made much progress, but also the introduction from the United States and Russia has its own difficulties for India. It can be seen that for a long time to come, the Pakistani Air Force will not be under pressure to face fifth-generation aircraft.
Therefore, the Egypt Air Force is really facing the pressure of fifth-generation aircraft, so Egypt is indeed likely to take the lead in introducing fifth-generation aircraft. The US media believes that before the introduction of the fifth-generation aircraft J-31, Egypt is likely to adapt by introducing some J-10 fighters. If Egypt really introduces the J-31, then this will make the Egypt Air Force erase the "generation gap" of the Israel Air Force, which is of great significance to Egypt. Finally, let us look forward to the cooperation between China and Egypt to further bear fruit.
End of this issue.