Chinese J-16 fighters have joined air-combat drills against Egyptian Rafales during the China-Egypt Eagles of Civilization 2026 exercise, with the first flying day reported on 23 August. The People’s Liberation Army Air Force and the Egyptian Air Force are conducting the second edition of the bilateral drill from multiple Egyptian airbases, using J-16s, Rafales and Egyptian MiG-29M2s alongside Chinese YY-20 or YU-20 tankers and KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft.
The deployment is the first known J-16 presence in Africa and the first reported direct training encounter between the Chinese fighter and the Rafale. It follows a long-range movement of more than 6,000 km to Egypt supported by aerial refuelling, underscoring the scale of the Chinese package compared with earlier iterations of the exercise, which used lighter aircraft.
Chinese and Egyptian crews held briefings on aircraft capabilities, safety, airspace control, takeoff and landing procedures, and emergency response before flying. The drills include medium- and close-range air combat training, while the exact Egyptian bases involved have not been disclosed publicly. The exercise is expected to continue into early September.