China’s J-16 fighters have trained against Egypt’s Rafales for the first time, highlighting shifting defence ties and offering fresh insight into modern air combat….reports India Daily News Desk
China’s J-16 fighter jets have conducted their first-ever combat exercise with French-made Rafale aircraft, in a joint drill with the Egyptian Air Force that highlights the expanding military cooperation between Beijing and Cairo.
The exercise took place on Sunday as part of the China-Egypt “Eagles of Civilization 2026” joint training exercise, according to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. It marks the first known occasion on which a Chinese fighter aircraft has participated in combat training involving the Rafale.
Video released by the PLA Air Force showed Chinese pilots flying J-16 fighter jets alongside Egypt’s Rafale aircraft during the exercise. One clip, apparently filmed from the rear seat of a J-16, showed a Rafale carrying out manoeuvres at relatively close range.
The first flight-training phase involved one-on-one aerial combat drills, with pilots from the two air forces carrying out manoeuvres under what the Chinese military described as combat-realistic conditions.
Before the aircraft took to the skies, Chinese and Egyptian pilots briefed each other on the characteristics of the participating aircraft and discussed the exercise scenarios.
The preparations included discussions on flight safety, airspace control, take-off and landing procedures and emergency response protocols, according to the PLA Air Force.
The J-16 is a heavyweight, multirole fighter developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China and is considered one of the country’s leading combat aircraft.
It is designed to carry a heavier weapons load than medium-weight fighters such as China’s J-10 series and can perform a range of missions, including air-to-air and air-to-ground operations.
The Rafale, manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation, is a highly capable multirole fighter operated by a growing number of countries. Egypt was the first foreign customer for the Rafale and has built a substantial fleet of the aircraft.
The exercise is significant beyond the technical interaction between the two aircraft because it reflects the widening defence relationship between China and Egypt.
The “Eagles of Civilization 2026” exercise is the second joint training event between the Chinese and Egyptian air forces. China has deployed a combined force including fighter jets, tanker aircraft, combat-support aircraft and helicopters for the latest exercise.
The interaction also comes against the backdrop of a broader international market for advanced fighter aircraft, in which countries are increasingly seeking to diversify their defence partnerships and acquire different platforms to meet operational requirements.
For India, the exercise offers an important regional comparison because the Indian Air Force also operates the French-made Rafale. India has inducted 36 Rafale fighters under a government-to-government agreement with France, making the aircraft a central component of its modern combat fleet.
The Rafale has been integrated into India’s air power structure alongside domestically developed and other foreign-origin aircraft, giving the Indian Air Force experience in operating the French fighter in a different strategic environment from Egypt.
The Chinese-Egyptian exercise therefore provides an opportunity for military analysts to observe how the Rafale performs in training against a heavyweight Chinese fighter, although the results of such exercises cannot by themselves establish which aircraft is superior in real combat.
The outcome of aerial combat depends on a range of factors, including pilot training, tactics, weapons, sensors, electronic warfare capabilities, airborne early-warning support and the wider command-and-control network.
The J-16 and Rafale also belong to different design philosophies and have been developed to meet different operational requirements. Comparing the aircraft purely on manoeuvrability or airframe characteristics would therefore provide only a partial picture of their combat effectiveness.
