According to information published by Tass on December 30, 2021, Pakistan has decided to buy 25 Chengdu J-10C multirole fighters from China amid strained relations with India.

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J-10C multirole fighter (Picture source: Airwar)

The purchase comes after the Indian Air Force received another batch of French-made Rafale fighters, the agency said.

In September 2016, India and France signed a contract for the delivery of 36 Rafale fighters worth about $8.8 billion. The aircraft is manufactured by Dassault Aviation. All the fighters are due to arrive by the end of 2022.

Equipped with an advanced avionics system and various airborne weapons, the domestically-developed fighter has airstrike capabilities within medium and close range and is capable of precisely striking land and maritime targets, the air force said in a statement.

It is China's third-generation supersonic fighter and made its debut when the PLA marked its 90th anniversary in July 2017 at Zhurihe military training base in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

It is equipped with an indigenous Active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire-control radar and is equipped with imaging infrared seeker (IIR) PL-10 and new long range dual pulse rocket motor PL-15 air-to-air missile (AAM).