[Foreign Media: China's J-16 Fighter Demonstrates Overwhelming Air-to-Air Dominance in Exercises]

According to a report published on the Military Watch Magazine website on August 21, 2026: Multiple sources indicate that the People's Liberation Army Air Force's J-16 fighter, deployed to Pakistan in 2019 to participate in the "Heron" series air combat exercises, demonstrated a significant advantage over other participating aircraft during simulated combat. Currently, the J-16, alongside the lighter domestically produced single-engine J-10C and the more advanced stealth J-20, forms the core of China’s fighter fleet. Reports state that the J-16 achieved a total of 51 "kills" in simulated engagements involving five different types of aircraft, including the J-10C, J-11B, and Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 (Karakoram), J-7, and Mirage III fighters.

The reported "kill" tally includes 14 J-10Cs, 4 J-11Bs, 11 JF-17s from the Pakistan Air Force, 9 J-7s, and 11 Mirage III fighters (ranked by combat potential). Although it was expected that the J-16 would have a clear performance edge over all participating aircraft, the extent of its superiority—particularly against the J-11B and especially the J-10C—surprised many observers. While both the J-11B and J-16 are advanced derivatives of the Soviet Su-27, the J-16 represents a far more modern and costly design incorporating numerous technologies developed for the J-20 program. Its high proportion of composite materials, reduced radar cross-section (RCS), and fifth-generation-level avionics systems—including what may be the world’s most powerful active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar—provide substantial advantages. The same applies to its PL-10 (Sky Sword-10) and PL-15 (Sky Sword-15) missiles.

Among the participating aircraft, only the J-10C is technologically comparable to the J-16; these two fighters were developed in parallel and possess highly complementary combat capabilities. However, as a larger, twin-engine heavy fighter, the J-16 not only boasts a significantly longer range but also features a radar that is several times larger and more powerful, endowing it with exceptional electronic warfare capability. Reports indicate that during the exercise, the J-16 managed to jam the radars of all “enemy” aircraft using electronic warfare means—even though the J-11B was equipped with a similarly powerful but relatively outdated large radar, and the J-10C had sophisticated countermeasures.

Additionally, the J-16 employs a dual-seat configuration, offering operational advantages in workload distribution. It holds significant performance advantages across multiple domains and possesses extremely high weapon-carrying capacity. Nevertheless, the J-10C’s remarkably low maintenance and procurement costs give it exceptional cost-effectiveness. Since the J-11B shares similar maintenance costs and requirements with the J-16, the J-16 effectively becomes a more cost-efficient heavy fighter. Its outstanding performance ultimately led to the complete cessation of production for the J-11 series between 2014 and 2018.

Several analysts assess that the J-16 is likely the most powerful fourth-generation fighter in the world. As anticipated, its engagements with Pakistani Air Force aircraft resulted in overwhelmingly one-sided outcomes. Although the Mirage III and J-7 fighters used by Pakistan have undergone early fourth-generation avionics upgrades, they are designs predating the Vietnam War—old, lightweight, and thus limited in radar power and weapon load capacity. The JF-17 Block II (Karakoram Block II), while superior within Pakistan’s fleet, was primarily developed with cost reduction in mind and serves as a lighter counterpart to the J-10. Although the J-16 still maintains a significant edge over Pakistan’s newly acquired JF-17 Block III and J-10C, this advantage will be far less overwhelming than the decisive dominance observed against older platforms.

The complexity and high cost of the J-16 make it unlikely that Pakistan will acquire a similar heavy fighter of comparable size and capability. However, Pakistan’s newly acquired J-10C fighters have proven exceptionally capable. This platform underwent intense real-world combat testing against the Indian Air Force in May 2025. According to mainstream reports, the J-10 shot down between one and four French Dassault Rafale fighters without suffering any losses. In 2024, Pakistan’s J-10s achieved a crushing 9–0 victory over Qatar Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoon fighters in simulated combat. Given the long-known shortcomings of the Typhoon and the advanced capabilities of the J-10, this outcome was unsurprising—despite the Typhoon’s significantly higher acquisition cost. The following year, Qatar attempted to resell these newly acquired aircraft to third parties.

Disclaimer: All equipment data cited above originates from reports on the Military Watch Magazine website.

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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874171645921280/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.