China fighter jet giant’s sales surge after India-Pakistan clash

China’s AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Co., maker of the fighter jets that rose to fame in the India-Pakistan conflict last year, posted record profit in 2025 and saw first-quarter sales nearly double.

Revenue rose 15.8% to 75.4 billion yuan ($11 billion) in 2025, with profit up 6.5% to 3.4 billion yuan, the jetmaker said in a statement Tuesday, April 28, night. Both are the highest-ever for the Chengdu-based company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. First-quarter sales rose almost 80% on year, it added.

AVIC Chengdu’s single-engine, multi-role J-10 fighters were battle-tested in May last year, when Pakistan claimed to have shot down multiple Indian aircraft, including French-made Rafale jets. One of China’s largest defense companies by market capitalisation, AVIC Chengdu attributed 2025’s outperformance to a reorganisation of assets that now includes the jetmaking business.
Its shares rose roughly 2% in Shenzhen on April 29 morning, the most in more than two weeks.
The Chinese company’s international profile has risen since Pakistan praised the performance of its J-10s, and of the JF-17 jets which are jointly produced by AVIC Chengdu and Pakistan.

The conflict marked one of the first times that high-tech Chinese weapons were tested in real combat. India acknowledged losing aircraft in the fighting, without specifying a number, and said it also destroyed several Pakistani planes, which Islamabad denies.

Since then, AVIC Chengdu’s fighter jets have attracted attention from the developing world. Indonesia at one point signaled interest in acquiring the J-10s, while Iraq, Bangladesh and Indonesia have expressed interest in acquiring the JF-17 Thunder.

Growing arms sales is a priority, AVIC Chengdu said in an investor Q&A last week. The company, which also produces the fifth-generation J-20 fighter, in February signed a deal with its home city of Chengdu, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, to expand aerospace production.

AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Co., which makes the fifth-generation J-35, last month reported 2025 sales of 44.7 billion yuan. Profit was 3.5 billion yuan, up 3.7% from 2024.

AVIC Shenyang, which attributed the higher profit to a rise in sales, is also expanding its manufacturing facilities. A new factory is expected to start mass production this year, according to the government of Liaoning where AVIC Shenyang is based.