For Pakistan, China has long been the default supplier of military hardware, a trusted all-weather partner offering affordable arms, fast delivery, and no uncomfortable political questions. But recent events and mounting evidence suggest that this trust may be misplaced.
The unreliability of Chinese military equipment has not only undermined Pakistan’s combat readiness but also exposed deeper fault lines in its strategic dependence. As Islamabad doubles down on Chinese arms, from drones to tanks to warships, it is not gaining military advantage but has instead imported vulnerabilities.
Consider the Wing Loong II drones, billed as a cornerstone of Pakistan’s evolving drone warfare capability. Within months of deployment, at least three of these drones reportedly malfunctioned and had to be sent back to China for repairs. But this is not a one-off incident.
Pakistan’s FM-90 (N) missile systems, too, have been plagued by defective infrared sensors and radar systems that fail to lock onto targets. A missile defence system that cannot detect incoming threats is not just ineffective, it is dangerous.
The failures extend to Pakistan’s naval and armoured fleets too. The F-22P frigates, a result of Sino-Pakistani collaboration, have shown signs of premature engine degradation and technical deficiencies that restrict operational deployment.
Meanwhile, the VT-4 main battle tanks, heralded as a modern addition to Pakistan’s armoured corps, have underperformed in trials, casting doubts over their reliability in battlefield conditions.
These are not isolated errors in complex machines but have formed a pattern of decay that is becoming hard to ignore.
Pakistan is not alone. Across the Global South, the promise of Chinese military exports has too often turned into a cautionary tale. Bangladesh returned the faulty K-8W aircraft and MBT-2000 tanks after discovering severe operational issues and a lack of spare parts. Nigerian F-7 fighters, a cheaper alternative to Western jets, suffered a spate of crashes and had to be grounded.
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Myanmar, after acquiring JF-17s co-developed with China, faced persistent problems with radar accuracy and missile integration. Even the supposed game-changer submarines sold to Dhaka turned out to be obsolete and unserviceable relics.
The underlying issue is therefore clear: Chinese arms exports have largely prioritized strategic influence over quality. These weapons are not designed to win wars; they are designed to win clients. For Beijing, military hardware is a tool of foreign policy offered generously, delivered swiftly, but maintained poorly.
For Pakistan, the implications are had actually been detrimental as witnessed during its recent conflict with India. In peacetime, this might appear as a manageable nuisance. But in a conflict scenario, substandard hardware has proven to collapse not just tactics, but also strategy.
The fact that its Chinese imported technology has been unable to prevent, safeguard and even be deployed in times of crisis, speaks volumes of the unreliability of such defence imports.
Furthermore, in a striking incident that underscored the reliability concern surrounding Chinese military technology, a Chinese Wing Loong-2 drone crashed during a test flight at the Jingzhou Olympic Sports Centre in Hubei Province.
The unmanned aircraft lost control and collided with a building, resulting in injuries and raising serious questions about the dependability of such systems.
Reports have also indicated that the Pakistan Army’s Chinese-made CH-4B drones have suffered from critical failures, including GPS malfunctions, non-functional electro-optical/infrared cameras due to nitrogen leaks, and faulty synthetic aperture radars.
These issues have significantly hindered their operational effectiveness. Furthermore, the Pakistan Air Force’s experience with the Wing Loong-2 drones has been problematic.
Within six months of induction, three of these drones malfunctioned during operations and had to be returned to China for repairs. Investigations revealed that these drones were constructed with substandard materials, deviating from the promised specifications.
These incidents highlight a pattern of reliability issues with Chinese military equipment, raising concerns about the strategic implications for countries relying on such technology. The question therefore is no longer whether Chinese military technology is unreliable. The evidence speaks for itself.
The real question is whether countries relying on cheap Chinese defence technology will learn the lesson of unreliability the easy way or the hard way. Pakistan, for one, is on track for a lesson the hard way.
