By Jia Feimao | 2026-02-23

Chinese defense exports are facing renewed scrutiny as multiple overseas operators report presistent unreliability and feeble after-sales support. The problems raise questions about the viability of cheaper systems in real-life combat.

In an early February assessment, Sam Cranny-Evans, a Royal United Services Institute associate fellow in military sciences, said defects and maintenance gaps have been reported across land, air and naval platforms, and that the impact is compounded when customers struggle to obtain spare parts, repairs or technical assistance.

Defective tanks

The assessment traced the pattern back decades, citing Thailand's experience with Chinese Type 69-II tanks delivered in 1988. The vehicles "proved unreliable and sourcing spare parts was problematic," and Thailand retired them by 2004. Meanwhile, older US-made M48 tanks remained in service.

Cost and politics can outweigh performance in procurement decisions, the report said, describing China's terms as "friendship prices." "Better to have unreliable tanks than no tanks," the report added, reflecting the trade-offs some buyers make when Western alternatives cost more.

Thailand later bought China's VT4 tank, with 60 delivered by 2023, according to the assessment. The report cited a 2025 incident in which the 125mm barrel of a VT4 exploded during fighting near the Thai-Cambodian border, wounding a three-man crew, and said unconfirmed social media accounts alleged broader reliability concerns and shortened gun-barrel service life.

Some of the reported failures of Chinese-made equipment have emerged in combat rather than during exercises, an alarming portent for buyers like Thailand and Burma, said the assessment.

Defective planes

Air platforms have drawn similar attention. Burma grounded most of its newly acquired JF-17 Thunder fighters in late 2022 because of severe airframe cracks and malfunctions in Chinese-made radars, according to the report. The aircraft's computer struggled with beyond-visual-range targeting.

China still lags Western suppliers in engines and composite materials, a failing that can undermine durability in high-stress environments, defense analyst Su Tzu-yun, director of Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research's Division of Strategy and Resources, said.

"The common issue with Chinese arms is that peak performance looks good on paper, but sustained performance is unreliable," Su told Focus.

Training aircraft and drones have raised maintenance complaints, the assessment said.

Cranny-Evans cited multiple crashes involving Bangladesh's FT-7 Chinese-made trainer aircraft in earlier years. Pilots were killed in some of those crashes, including in 1998 and 2001.

Bangladesh complained too about problems with K-8W light trainers in 2020, including weapon system performance issues and defects in avionics, alongside concerns over spare parts quality and initial assembly, he said.

Defective drones and ships

Uncrewed systems show similar risks, the study said. Jordan grew dissatisfied with its CH-4B Rainbow drone fleet and put it up for sale, while Iraq's CH-4 fleet suffered eight crashes out of 20 within the first few years. Iraq had to hold the remainder in reserve for lack of spare parts.

At sea, the assessment cited third-party reporting that Pakistan's Chinese-built F-22P frigates have faced problems affecting missile system components, radars and engines. Some spare parts supplied for Chinese-made warships were faulty, outside reports said.

Complex military equipment can fail for many reasons, including user error and poor maintenance, said Cranny-Evans. But the breadth of complaints points to quality control challenges that become acute when after-sales support is inadequate. "Frequently, the customer's concerns are left unanswered," he wrote, warning that users can be left "potentially weaker as a result."

The scrutiny comes even as China remains a major arms exporter by volume. China accounted for 5.9% of global arms exports in 2020–2024, ranking fourth worldwide, with almost two-thirds of its exports going to Pakistan, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said.

China could mitigate those problems if exporters paired sales with robust spare part pipelines, maintenance support and follow-on development to make systems work as promised, said Cranny-Evans. But often it fails to provide enough support, and some partners have faced critical breakdowns during conflict rather than during exercises, he said.

"Time will tell if these issues are resolved, but right now, there is cause for caution around procuring Chinese kit," he wrote.