Uzbekistan has acquired a few dozen Chinese combat jets, according to unconfirmed reports. If this is true, as it does seem, it would signify an important shift in Uzbekistan’s Air Force, away from Russia and closer to China.
In late July reports started surfacing in specialised media outlets about Uzbekistan’s purchase of Chinese Chengdu J-10C fighters. More details soon started to emerge, bringing the number of jets up to 24. In mid-August, unverified images that made their way to social media seemed to locate a J-10C flying over the Uzbek skies.
There have been no official confirmation of the purchase of Chinese jets. In response to Kun.uz enquiries, the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan stated that “there is no information” on the topic.
While we wait for an official statement, it is no secret that the Uzbek Air Force were looking for alternatives to replace their aging Soviet-era Su-27 and MiG-29 aircraft. Russian Su-30s and Chinese J-17s seemed to be the contenders, but it would now seem another Chinese aircraft will patrol the skies of the Central Asian nation.
Russia out, China in?
Until now, all of Uzbekistan’s stock of combat jets was of Soviet origin, inherited after the fall of the Soviet Union. Instead of looking for the newer generation of Russian aircraft with which to update its fleet, Uzbekistan has decided to look east to China.
Beijing is no stranger in Uzbekistan’s arsenal. For the past decade China has been supplying Uzbekistan with different types of weaponry, notably drones and air defense systems. Combat jets are a different matter. With an estimated cost of $60 million per unit, and additional fees to cover training, spares and other costs, the figure could be close to $2 billion. But leaving aside the financial aspect, Tashkent’s move also indicates a change in the security sphere in the region.
Russia, considered the main external security player in Central Asia since the republics’ independence, has been gradually losing its presence in the region. The war in Ukraine has since 2022 been draining its military capacity and attention, and it has also highlighted its military limitations, both in hardware and strategy. The Ukrainian invasion has not been the best PR campaign for the Russian armed forces. The region is well aware of it.
There are multiple reasons why the Uzbek authorities may have decided in favour of the Chinese jet. From cost, although not so different to its Russian competitors, to specifications, performance or political considerations. But what is certain is that it is bad news for Moscow.
Rather than signalling that China is simply taking over Russia’s historical role, the reported purchase of the combat jets suggests that the diversification of foreign and security policies is now extending into high-tech military equipment. This is a trend that is expected to continue and accelerate. One thing is for China, Turkey or other countries to provide small arms, vehicles or drones, but combat aircraft are a different level.