AdSense Advertisement

China’s AVIC Chengdu posts record profit as combat-tested J-10 jets draw global interest after India-Pakistan conflict

By The South Asia Times

BEIJING - AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Co., the Chinese manufacturer whose fighter jets gained international prominence during last year’s India-Pakistan aerial conflict, has reported record annual profits and surging quarterly sales, according to a Bloomberg report published Wednesday.

The Chengdu-based jetmaker’s revenue rose 15.8% to 75.4 billion yuan ($11 billion) in 2025, with profit increasing 6.5% to 3.4 billion yuan -- both the highest-ever figures for the company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. First-quarter sales nearly doubled, rising almost 80% year-on-year, the company said in a statement on Tuesday night.

AVIC Chengdu attributed the outperformance to a reorganization of assets that now includes its jetmaking business. The company’s shares rose approximately 2% in Shenzhen on Wednesday morning, the steepest gain in more than two weeks.

The single-engine, multi-role J-10C fighters were battle-tested in May last year, when Pakistan claimed to have shot down multiple Indian aircraft, including French-made Rafale jets. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had earlier confirmed that all Indian fighter jets involved in the cross-border escalation were downed by Pakistan using Chinese-made J-10C aircraft equipped with PL-15E air-to-air missiles.

“The conflict marked one of the first times that high-tech Chinese weapons were tested in real combat,” Bloomberg noted. While India acknowledged losing aircraft without specifying numbers, Islamabad maintains that no Pakistani jets were lost.

Since the May 2025 engagement, international interest in Chinese combat aircraft has surged. Indonesia has signaled interest in acquiring J-10s, while Iraq, Bangladesh, and Indonesia have expressed interest in the JF-17 Thunder -- jointly produced by AVIC Chengdu and Pakistan.

Global military observers and several countries have invited Pakistan to participate in joint air exercises, seeking to study the operational effectiveness of Chinese platforms in actual combat scenarios.

AVIC Chengdu, which also produces the fifth-generation J-20 fighter, signed a deal with its home city in February to expand aerospace production. The company -- along with AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Co., maker of the fifth-generation J-35 -- remains sanctioned by the United States