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China Flies J-16 Strike Fighters 3,700 Miles to Egypt for Joint Drills – SOFX

Egypt
China Flies J-16 Strike Fighters 3,700 Miles to Egypt for Joint Drills – SOFX

A People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) formation of Shenyang J-16 multirole strike fighters landed at an Egyptian air base in the early hours of August 21. This completed a 3,700-mile intercontinental flight across two continents and four countries to open the second China-Egypt Eagles of Civilization joint air exercise, the PLAAF announced. The mission marked the J-16’s first deployment to Africa.

China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed the exercise on August 14. Senior Colonel Chen Xi, MND spokesperson, said the training would cover air combat tactics, air superiority operations, combat search and rescue, and force employment drills, running from mid-August through early September.

The fleet, which Defence Security Asia reported included at least six J-16s, crossed two continents and four countries in roughly nine hours. A Xian YY-20A aerial refueling tanker supported the transit, with PLAAF imagery showing two fighters receiving fuel simultaneously during the crossing. The formation also included a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, helicopters, and support planes.

The J-16 represents a capability step up from the J-10C fighters China sent for Eagles of Civilization 2025. The J-10C is a lighter, single-engine design. The J-16, built by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and derived from the Russian Su-30MKK Flanker family, is a twin-engine, twin-seat strike fighter carrying domestically developed WS-10 Taihang engines and an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.

The aircraft can carry the PL-15, an extended-range air-to-air missile with a reported engagement range exceeding 100 miles, and has a combat radius of approximately 930 miles without refueling. The type previously appeared in joint strategic patrols with Russia in May 2022, but August 21 marked its first appearance on the African continent.

The PLAAF described the transit route as crossing “four countries.” Defence Security Asia reported the fleet staged through Pakistan on the way to Egypt. The routing, if confirmed, links two of the PLA’s most active bilateral air exercise partners into a single westward corridor stretching from the Indo-Pacific through South Asia and into North Africa, a connection that no single exercise mission had previously tested end to end.

Egypt maintains parallel defense relationships with both Washington and Beijing. Cairo operates U.S.-made F-16 Fighting Falcons, accepted a $929 million U.S. arms package in February 2025, and hosted forces from 13 countries for the Bright Star 2025 exercise in September 2025.

During Eagles of Civilization 2025, which ran from mid-April through early May at Wadi Abu Rish Air Base, Egyptian pilots flew MiG-29M/M2 Fulcrum multirole fighters alongside Chinese J-10Cs. Egypt has not confirmed which aircraft types it is fielding for the 2026 exercise.



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