China has just pulled the cover of the US F-22 Raptors in the Middle East.
Less than 24 hours after the F-22 Raptors were forward deployed in Israel amid Iran tensions, China has published annotated satellite imagery of every F-22 Raptor at Israel’s Ovda Air Base in the Negev Desert.
These 11 F-22 Raptors had flown from RAF Lakenheath in England, supported by seven aerial refueling tankers, and had covered thousands of miles to land in Israel on February 25.
This was an unprecedented move by the US. The F-22 Raptor is one of the US’s most closely guarded secrets.
The US has never exported this stealth fighter to any of its allies, not to the UK or Canada, not even to Israel.
Furthermore, the US had never deployed the Raptors to Israel, not during the ISIS Operation, not during the Iraq War, not even during Operation Midnight Hammer.
Only 195 F-22s were ever built; nearly 180 remain operational. According to US Air Force (USAF) data, the Raptors’ mission-capable rate was just 40.19% in 2024.
Meaning, at any given time, only 72 Raptors are available to perform any task. Of the 72, the US decided to deploy 11 to Israel, underlining the seriousness of Washington’s force mobilization in the Middle East, the biggest since the 2003 Iraq War.
However, within 24 hours, China published images of the fighter jet that was never supposed to be visible.
On February 26, Beijing published satellite images in which each aircraft was individually tagged with Chinese characters on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, exposing America’s premium stealth fighter jet
Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words. This image is, perhaps, worth a million words.
For this image lays bare what kind of hybrid support China will offer Iran as Tehran prepares for another showdown with the US and Israel.
In fact, this hybrid support by China has a precedent; the four-day India-Pakistan War in May 2025.
How China Propped Pakistan’s War Waging Capabilities During Operation Sindoor
During the four-day war between India and Pakistan in May 2025, the 2,167-mile-long India-China border remained calm.
Further, no substantial arms shipments were recorded from China to Pakistan before or during the war.
However, that does not mean that China was a neutral party in the conflict. In fact, senior Indian defense officials have repeatedly argued that during the war, India fought the combined might of China and Pakistan.
For instance, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh, Deputy Chief of the Indian Army, stated in July 2025 that India fought two adversaries during the conflict, with Pakistan as the “front face” while China provided “all possible support.”
China supplied “live inputs” on key Indian positions to Pakistan during the fighting. This included real-time intelligence sharing, such as revealing knowledge of specific Indian military vectors that were primed for action.
This intelligence support was in addition to hardware support provided to Pakistan, including J-10CE & J-17 aircraft, PL-15 air-to-air missiles, HQ-9 air defense systems, and drones.
Pakistan also used the Chinese BeiDou Navigation Satellite System to complete its ‘kill-chain’.
China also supported Pakistan’s disinformation campaigns by magnifying its propaganda, such as highlighting Pakistan’s false claims about shooting down six Indian fighter jets, including four Rafales.
This strategy has its advantages for China. It allows Beijing to degrade Indian military capabilities without getting into actual combat, something Western countries have successfully done in Ukraine against Russia.
It also allows China to tie down India in South Asia, so that New Delhi is unable to become a credible challenger to Beijing at international stage.
China, it seems, is now playing the same strategy in Iran.
How China Is Pulling A Pakistan Out Of Iran
China is not expected to provide much kinetic support to Iran.
Commenting on the lack of Chinese kinetic support to Iran, noted security analyst Patricia Marins said, “There is no visual evidence that the Chinese have provided long-range HQ-9B surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems or YLC-8B radars to Iran.”
However, that does not mean China is sitting idle on the fence.
China has been reported to provide Iran with various forms of intelligence and surveillance support.
Beijing is providing Tehran with intelligence data transmitted by its satellites on the live movement of US military assets.
Analysts describe the arrangement as a division of roles in which Chinese space-based assets support Iran’s regional strike capabilities. They characterise the cooperation more vividly as “eyes and fist”.
China’s satellite fleet, comprising more than 500 operational military and civilian satellites, forms the backbone of this intelligence-sharing structure.
“Data obtained from these platforms is transmitted to Iranian command structures, enabling the regime in Tehran to monitor the deployment of United States armed forces in the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf,” wrote Martin Chomsky in Defence Industry Europe.
China also provided Iran’s armed forces with access to its BeiDou satellite navigation system after Tehran abandoned the American GPS system.
During the 12-day war in June last year, the US was able to block Iran’s access to the GPS system, effectively weakening Iran’s offensive capabilities.
Now, through live feeds of US military movements provided by Chinese satellites and the BeiDou satellite navigation system, Iran can cause much more damage.
“China’s role in intelligence with Iran appears to mirror exactly the U.S. role with Ukraine,” Marins said.
Furthermore, Chinese firms like MizarVision have publicly released high-definition satellite images detailing US military deployments, such as the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier in Crete, activities at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, and THAAD missile interceptors in Jordan.
Images by MizarVision have detailed the exact numbers and models of US jets parked at the facilities, as well as their air defense systems.
Earlier this week, a post by the firm said, “High-definition satellite imagery indicates a reduction in both tanker and transport aircraft at Al Udeid Air Base, though air defence and anti-missile systems remain deployed.”
Now the post on Weibo tagging F-22 Raptors at an Israeli airbase is another strategic message by China that it can boost Iran’s war-waging capabilities without providing much kinetic support to Tehran.
Dennis Wilder, a former senior American intelligence official and now professor of practice at Georgetown University, raised the unusual disclosures in a social media post.
“What is Beijing’s purpose in allowing these photos to be published? Is it trying to prove its intelligence capabilities after the failure to detect the US extraction of [Nicolas] Maduro?”
The strategy also mirrors China’s strategy of using Pakistan to degrade Indian military capabilities and tie down New Delhi in South Asia.
Shanaka Anslem Perera, author and security expert, said, “Every missile the United States fires at Iran is a missile it cannot fire at China… An Iran campaign consuming hundreds of Tomahawks and thousands of JDAMs directly degrades the stockpile earmarked for the Taiwan contingency.”
“Every JDAM dropped on Fordow is a JDAM absent from a Taiwan scenario. Every Tomahawk spent on Isfahan is a destroyer magazine that will not be full when it matters most.”
“Iran is the bait. Taiwan is the prize.”
China’s non-kinetic hybrid support for Iran is not just aimed at protecting a friendly regime in Tehran, which, along with Moscow, is a key pillar of Beijing’s energy security, but China is playing a much longer game.
In this strategy, a US-Iran War is only the first step in China’s long-term goal of dislodging America from Taiwan.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
- VIEWS PERSONAL OF THE AUTHOR.
- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
