A Chinese J-16 fighter Photo: VCG

Chinese state media aired a news program on Sunday featuring Chinese pilots who took part in the China-Egypt "Eagles of Civilization 2026" joint air training exercise from mid-August to early September, revealing fresh details from the drills featuring J-16 and Rafale fighter jets, including air combat tactics, refueling operations and candid exchanges between the two sides. 

An expert provided deeper insight into what the new details reveal.

The exercise was not only an exchange of air force tactics between the two countries, but also an in-depth showcase of air force equipment development, reshaping perceptions of China's defense strength and defense industry in the Middle East, CCTV News reported on Sunday.

An earlier report noted that on the first flight training day, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) J-16s conducted air combat drills against Egyptian MiG-29 and Rafale fighters. A Chinese expert said this was the first joint exercise featuring both the J-16 and the Rafale, reflecting strong mutual trust and a high level of coordination between the two air forces.

In the new CCTV footage, Wei Yuexin, a PLA Air Force pilot who served as tower command on the first day of training, said Egyptian fighters had displayed stronger close-combat maneuverability than their Chinese counterparts that day.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Monday that both the Rafale and MiG-29 are medium-weight fighters with relatively good agility, while the J-16 is a heavy fighter optimized for air-to-ground and air-to-sea strikes while retaining air combat capability. The Egyptian jets' advantage lies in close-range "dogfighting," roughly on par with China's J-10C.

However, when it comes to beyond-visual-range combat, the J-16 should perform well, especially when guided by the KJ-500 early warning aircraft, Song said. 

This was one of the key lessons drawn from the training with the Egyptian Air Force, identifying each other's weaknesses, strengths and gaps, Song said.

That lesson showed up later in the drills.

CCTV reported that on the third day of training, the joint exercise escalated from single-aircraft and two-on-two engagements to a four-versus-six beyond-visual-range air combat scenario. China deployed four J-16s, while Egypt sent two Rafales and four MiG-29s. Facing this numerical disadvantage, China sent up a KJ-500 early warning aircraft for system-based operations. The KJ-500 can operate in complex electromagnetic environments, conducting surveillance, tracking and identification of conventional targets, and serves as a key airborne command hub.

"When the air battle started, we forgot about the numerical disadvantage and forgot that they might be Rafales. We only remembered the timeline for missile evasion. We just needed to evade their weapons, and through tactical coordination, we made up for the numerical gap," Wei was quoted by CCTV as saying.

He recalled that after that day's training, at 9:30 pm, Egyptian pilots were still looking for them, hoping to discuss the day's air combat. 

"What impressed me most was how much they appreciated and were interested in our use of electronic jamming. They thought our timing and jamming capability were excellent," Wei noted.

Song commented that future air combat and system-based operations are not just about numbers, but about quality and systems. So while China may have only had four J-16s, it held a qualitative advantage. The KJ-500 acts as a "force multiplier," allowing the J-16, with its large weapons payload and long-range air-to-air missiles, to maximize its strengths and offsetting the numerical gap.

The new CCTV video also showed more footage of a PLA Air Force YU-20A tanker refueling Egyptian Rafale fighters multiple times. On August 31, an official spokesperson for the Egyptian Armed Forces posted a photo on X showing the midair refueling, drawing widespread attention.

A PLA YU-20A tanker refuels an Egyptian Rafale fighter. Photo: Screenshot from CCTV News

"Egypt only has buddy refueling between MiG-29s, so they really valued this joint training opportunity," Wei was quoted by CCTV News as saying.

The YU-20A's multiple refueling of Rafales and MiG-29s was extremely valuable experience for the Egyptian Air Force, Song said. 

As Wei noted, Egypt conduct buddy refueling between MiG-29s, which carries limited fuel and can leave the other MiG-29 with limited combat capability. The YU-20A, by contrast, can refuel any compatible fighters, with the core goal of giving other fighters greater range and endurance, which is critical.

The performance of Egyptian Air Force pilots won praise from their Chinese counterparts. Wei said that while their refueling success rate and maneuvers may not have matched China's, "they improved very quickly, and by the end, their success rate had risen very fast."

Egyptian pilots, in turn, spoke highly of their Chinese counterparts.

One Chinese pilot said in the CCTV report, "When we chatted, they praised not only our skills but also our J-16 fighters and PL-15 missiles. I could feel it in their eyes. They were giving a thumbs-up to our country's development."

The Chinese and Egyptian air forces held the Eagles of Civilization 2026 joint training exercise in Egypt from mid-August to early September. The training focused on subjects such as air combat tactics, air superiority operations and combat search and rescue, and included force employment drills, China's Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Chen Xi said on August 14.

As the second iteration of its kind, the exercise further enhanced mutual trust and traditional friendship, deepened substantive cooperation between the Chinese and Egyptian militaries, and contributed to regional peace and stability, Chen said.