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To modernise the Bangladesh Air Force and strengthen national air defence, the government is preparing to buy 20 Chinese-made J-10CE multirole fighter jets at an estimated cost of $2.20 billion (around Tk27,060 crore) by 2027.
The deal, which covers procurement, training, maintenance, and associated expenses, is expected to be executed during FY26 and FY27, either through a direct purchase or a government-to-government arrangement. Payments would be spread across 10 fiscal years, up to FY2035–36, according to official documents reviewed by The Business Standard.
The J-10CE is the export variant of China's J-10C, already in service with the Chinese air force. It recently drew global attention after reports claimed it had downed, possibly several, French-made Rafale of the Indian Airforce during the India–Pakistan clashes of May 2025 — an incident yet to be independently verified.
The Chief Adviser's Office has estimated the base price of each aircraft at $60 million, or $1.2 billion (Tk14,760 crore) for the fleet. Training, equipment, and freight add another $820 million (Tk10,086 crore). With insurance, VAT, agency commissions, civil works, and ancillary costs, the total climbs to $2.20 billion.
The finance ministry will need to provide bulk allocations over a 10-year period till the 2035–36 fiscal year to pay for these jets.
In a statement issued in March, the press wing of the Chief Advisor's Office said that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus had discussed the purchase of multirole combat aircraft during his visit to China. The statement noted that China had responded positively to the proposal.
In April, the government formed an 11-member inter-ministerial committee, headed by the Chief of Air Staff of Bangladesh Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, to finalise an agreement through negotiations for purchasing the jets. The committee includes representatives from the Chief Advisor's Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Finance Division, the Economic Relations Division, the Ministry of Law, and other relevant ministries and agencies.
Committee's role in fighter jet purchase
The Air Chief-led committee will review the draft contract and assess whether it would be appropriate to procure the aircraft from the Chinese government or its designated agency under a g-to-g arrangement. The agreement will outline provisions for maintenance support, storage systems, training, spare parts management, and other related matters.
In addition, the committee will negotiate with Chinese representatives to determine the final price of the aircraft, finalise payment terms, prepare the draft contract, and complete all procedures related to finalising and signing the agreement.
সোর্স: The Business Standard https://share.google/2fwTLpKiwnUrl5hPl
Great to see they are actually working out the details with real intent. @Isa Khan
For all of its talk of modernising Armed forces, previous facist regime never did that.
