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| JF-17 Thunder Fighter of the Pakistani Air Force |
By Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — Despite much handwringing in the US about China's next-generation aircraft technology, analysts don't expect the Pacific power to expand its grip on the global military aviation market.
The obvious niche for China to target is the market filled during the Cold War by Russian equipment. For nations outside of Europe, Russia represented an alternative supplier to the US, one which was generally cheaper to procure than American equipment.
Doug Berenson, an analyst with Avascent, said Russian firms need to be aware of the threat to traditional customers.
"If I were the Russians, I would know exactly which way the wind is blowing. Chinese firms are going to grow into a certain level of excellence, and if the Russians think they can control the flow of Chinese exporters from there, they are fooling themselves," he said.
However, that market is limited for China, in part due to geopolitical reasons. A series of aggressive moves by China to expand its territory in the South China Sea has angered neighbors in the region, including some who have purchased Russian equipment that now may be falling behind newer technologies put forth by China.
Speaking in Hawaii on May 27, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter warned that China was isolating itself in the Pacific through its actions, in particular the creation of 2,000 acres of new islands in the sea that Beijing is claiming as territory. The US and its allies have rejected those claims.
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