Egypt Reportedly Keeps Door Open to Chinese Stealth Jets as US F-35 Hopes Stall
Egypt is reportedly keeping its options open on Chinese stealth fighters, including the Chengdu J-20 and the newer Shenyang/SAC J-35, as its long-standing hope of buying US F-35s remains unmet, according to two separate reports citing a defence newsletter and a London-based analyst. Neither Cairo nor Beijing has confirmed a stealth-fighter agreement, and no contract has been announced.
Photo: FC-31 2.0 prototype, a Chinese twin-engine stealth fighter demonstrator related to the carrier-based J-35, on display at the SAC Aviation Expo Park. Credit: TurnOnTheNight, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
What has happened
Citing the defence newsletter TacticalReport, Army Recognition reported on 26 January 2026 that Egyptian-Chinese discussions over the J-20, which date back to at least 2019, had entered what the newsletter called a “containment phase”: talks are being kept open but have not advanced to a deal. The same report said Washington has countered with warnings of possible CAATSA sanctions and has offered Cairo an alternative package reportedly including NASAMS 3 air defence systems, F-16 upgrades and AIM-120D missiles.
During President Xi Jinping’s visit to Egypt in September 2026, The National reported on 2 September that the J-35 was not sent to the joint “Eagles of Civilization” drills with Egypt, and that Chinese state media were instead publicly promoting the lighter J-10C. The outlet said whether Cairo would eventually take on a Chinese stealth jet “is a question the visit has yet to answer.”
Why it matters
Egypt’s interest follows Washington’s failure to follow through on a reported earlier pledge to sell F-35s to Cairo; Israel remains the only F-35 operator in the Middle East. Rafale and Su-35-equipped Egypt was also weighing other options on display at the Egypt International Airshow at El Alamein on 8-10 September 2026, where Rostec premiered stealth drones built to launch from the Su-57 alongside the export-grade Su-57E, TASS reported on 3 September. RUSI analyst Justin Bronk told The National that selling China’s J-10CE or J-35 to Egypt “would almost certainly trigger CAATSA sanctions” and would raise security concerns in Washington and Paris. DefenceMENA has previously examined the fighter jets Egypt currently operates and the overall strength of Egypt’s armed forces.
What is not confirmed
No letter of offer, contract or government statement on a Chinese stealth-fighter sale has been issued by Cairo or Beijing. The J-35 is not yet officially available for export, and figures reported elsewhere for possible batch sizes or unit costs are unverified estimates, not official data. A separate, lower-quality report of a proposed Egyptian-Turkish partnership to build the KAAN fighter locally could not be independently corroborated and is treated here as unconfirmed.
Sources
- Army Recognition, citing TacticalReport: Egypt keeps J-20 stealth fighter talks with China alive despite US pressure (26 January 2026)
- The National: Guide to Chinese military hardware on show in Egypt during President Xi’s visit (2 September 2026)
- TASS: Rostec to premiere Su-57-launched stealth drones at Egypt airshow (3 September 2026)
