Should Iran Dump Russia’s Su-35 Air Superiority Fighter For China’s J-10C?

Israel’s initiation of open hostiles with Iran on June 13, which culminated in a ceasefire 11 days later, has served to draw considerable attention to the deficiencies of Iranian air defence capabilities, and the highly uncertain future of the country’s fighter fleet which is today considered long since obsolete. Although Iran was confirmed in January to have placed orders for the Russian Su-35 ‘4+ generation’ fighter, uncertainty regarding the cause for the particularly long time it has taken to delivery the aircraft has been among the factors contributing to raising questions regarding whether it is the optimal aircraft to equip the country’s fleet. Although alternatives considered in the past for procurement by Iran have included enhanced variants of the lighter MiG-29 fighter and the much heavier MiG-31 interceptor, the leading challenge to possible efforts by Russia to gain market share in Iran increasing appears to be emanating from rival Chinese fighters, in particular the J-10C.

Having been developed as a heavily enhanced derivative of the Su-27 optimised for air-to-air combat, although the Su-35 represents a significant improvement over its predecessor and over Iran’s existing fighters, its international standing has continued to diminish as the discrepancy between Russia’s combat aviator sector, and those of China and the United States, have continued to grow. Chinese fighters today integrate significantly more advanced sensors and data links, make much greater use of more advanced composite materials, and carry armaments that are in some cases over a decade ahead in their sophistication. Where the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force formed its first fifth generation fighter regiment in 2017, Russia would do so almost eight years later, and using fighters that were significantly less capable than their Chinese counterparts. With the Russian Defence Ministry having made almost no fighter procurements for 17 years form 1992-2009, the limitations of its fighters’ capabilities has ensured that its Air Force cannot play a more central role in shaping the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War.

Chinese industry is currently producing more classes of fighter aircraft than that of any other country, including in ascending order of cost: the JF-17 Block III, J-10C, J-16, J-15B, J-35 and J-20, for a total of six. Although the four higher end fighters would provide a particularly transformative improvement for the Iranian Air Force, not only are the fifth generation J-20 and J-35 far too complex to be integrated into Iranian service in the short or medium term, but of these four only the J-35 has been offered abroad. Thus while the J-16 may well be the best option for the Iranian Air Force, due to its combination of a very high endurance, long engagement range, and powerful sensor suite, it remains uncertain whether China would agree to provide the aircraft. The J-10C, although carrying a smaller radar and being shorter ranged, would nevertheless totally transform Iranian aerial warfare capabilities if procured, and has a number of significant advantages over Russian rivals such as the Su-35.

The J-10C has achieved impressive results in multiple exercises over several years, and was reported in 2020 to have consistently outperformed Russian-supplied Su-35 fighters during mock combat engagements in China. It has repeatedly proven capable of going head to head with the J-16, leading it to be considered one of the two most capable single engine fighter classes in the world alongside the American F-35. More recently, the fighter’s capabilities gained significant publicity following its first ever combat engagement in early May 2025, with the aircraft credited with the shootdown of at least one French-supplied Rafale operated by the Indian Air Force, and possibly with up to four of the costly French aircraft. Three months later, a J-10C operating with support from a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system and a J-16D electronic attack aircraft was reported to have successfully achieved a simulated shootdown of a J-20 fifth generation fighter exercises, although the extent to which the engagement may have been scripted to promote the J-10C’s capabilities remains uncertain.

For the Iranian Air Force, the Su-35 has the advantages of carrying a much larger radar, which although less advanced, is significantly more powerful than that of the J-10C. While its thrust vectoring engines provide higher manoeuvrability, their power also allow it to cruise at supersonic speeds for sustained periods without using fuel hungry afterburners, which the J-10C cannot do. The Su-35’s range is also among the longest of any fighter class in the world, allowing it to patrol Iran’s vast territory, and potentially even attack or pursue targets beyond the country’s borders. The fighter’s sheer size allows it to carry the large R-37M air-to-air missile, which combines a mach 6 speed with a very long 400 kilometre range, allowing it to pose a major threat to fighters, tankers and other support aircraft.

Despite the drawbacks of being a much smaller and shorter ranged fighter, the J-10C is a much more sophisticated and cost effective choice, with its much lower sustainment and procurement costs allowing it to be acquired on a significantly greater scale to equip fighter units across much of Iran. The fighter is also being produced in much greater numbers at a rate estimated at around 50 per year, compared to around 20-28 per year for the Su-35 after its production scale was expanded, allowing for faster deliveries. China’s defence sector has also developed upgrades and new armaments for its fighters far more rapidly, which is expected to allow the J-10C to be incrementally modernised far faster and more meaningfully than the Su-35 can. The fighter’s greater demonstrated combat capabilities are also a significant factor in its favour. Perhaps most significantly, Russia’s history of abandoning major arms deals with Iran due to Western or Israel pressure ensures that trust between Iran and China will remain significantly higher. There are thus strong arguments for Iran to prioritise the J-10C for fighter procurements, despite the Su-35 maintaining a number of its own distinct advantages.