Pakistan’s JF-17 Fighter Jet: An Overview

Pakistan’s air power is slowly but steadily undergoing a process of indigenization – at least when it comes to its lightweight fighter aircraft. As the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF’s) aging fleet of Chengdu F-7 and Dassault Mirage III/5 fighter jets are slowly phased out, they are principally being replaced by the country’s first locally assembled light fighter, the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 “Thunder.”

This circumstance is the result of multiple factors, but first and foremost can be traced back to the unstable U.S.-Pakistan military relationship in recent years, which impacted the export of U.S.-made military hardware to the country. Following the United States’ refusal to sell additional U.S.-made F-16C/D Block-52 fighter aircraft to Pakistan in 2016, paired with uncertainty surrounding the acquisition of Russian fighters like the Sukhoi Su-35S, the PAF will increasingly have to rely on the JF-17 for close-air-support and interceptor missions.

The first PAF JF-17 squadron, consisting of 14 JF-17 Block I fighters, was stood up in 2010. The PAF currently has 85 JF-17 Block I and II aircraft operationally deployed. The major difference between Block I and II aircraft is that the latter has a fixed in-flight refueling probe, and a new electronics suite that includes an upgraded KLJ-7 radar known as KLJ-7 V2.

According to PAF Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, production of the first batch of JF-17 Block III aircraft is expected to begin later in 2019. F-17 Block III fighters will apparently receive a new electronic warfare system, upgraded avionics including a three-axis fly-by-wire digital flight control system, a helmet-mounted display and sight system, and Pakistan’s first Chinese-made active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system. Two such radar systems are currently under evaluation, according to the PAF air chief: the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology’s KLJ-7A radar and the Leihua Electronic Technology Research Institute’s (LETRI) LKF601E.

The first two JF-17 variants are powered by a Chinese license-built Klimov RD-93MA turbofan engine, while the latest version will be either be equipped with the RD-93MA or Chinese WS-13 engine. The JF-17, capable of reaching a maximum speed of Mach 1.6, has a reported combat range of around 1,200 kilometers without refueling. The JF-17 jet fighter is a light multirole combat aircraft and can be armed with air-to-air, air-to-surface, and anti-ship missiles. Notably, the PAF is also in the process of integrating beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles with its JF-17 fleet.

Pakistan and China are also working on a two-seat trainer variant of the JF-17 aircraft, dubbed JF-17B. Like the single-seat variant, the JF-17B features seven hard points and presumably can carry external payloads of up to 3,650 kilograms. Interestingly, the two-seater features a dorsal fin that contains an additional fuel tank, and has a slightly larger wingspan, in addition to a marginally modified nose section to accommodate an AESA radar system. Furthermore, it features a larger swept-back vertical stabilizer housing a new three-axis fly-by-wire system. These new features have led to the speculation that that F-17B will be basis for the JF-17 Block III variant.

Since 2008, all variants of the JF-17 have been and will be assembled in Pakistan at the Aircraft Manufacturing Factory (AMF) final assembly line at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra. The various aircraft parts seemingly arrive from China in knock-down condition. PAC has reportedly produced 58 percent of the JF-17’s airframe and subsystems, and Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC) 42 percent, although this workshare is expected to move further toward the Pakistani side in the years ahead. PAC has an annual production capability of about 25 JF-17 aircraft, according to senior PAF leadership. It remains unclear what Pakistan’s JF-17 production capability is and its precise dependence on Chinese and Russian assistance.

Interestingly, this May saw the return of the first overhauled JF-17 from China, with future retrofits slated to be handled by PAF maintenance crews in Pakistan. This recent announcement of the aircraft overhaul, by Changsha 5712 Aircraft Industry Company, a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), indicates that Pakistan still lacks know-how and the necessary domestic infrastructure to operate its JF-17 fleet independent from Chinese support.

The aircraft achieved brief prominence this past February during an Indian-Pakistani military standoff when Pakistan claimed that a JF-17 shot down an Indian Air Force Mig-21 Bison in Pakistani Airspace. Initially, the PAF claimed that it had shot down two IAF fighters, but that was vehemently denied by the Indian side. This would constitute the first kill of an aircraft by a JF-17, although it remains still unclear what aircraft were involved in the shooting down of the Mig-21. This would not have been the JF-17’s first combat mission. In past years, it flew combat missions in Pakistan’s tribal areas and also shot down an Iranian drone in 2017.

Both China and Pakistan have been trying to export the JF-17, pitching the aircraft as a low-cost alternative – the three variants come in at a per-unit price of between $25 and $35 million – for cash-strapped air forces in Africa, Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe. Argentina, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Nigeria, the Philippines, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe have reportedly all expressed interest in the aircraft at some point. Notably, Nigeria is in the process of procuring the JF-17 for its air force.

Pakistan’s JF-17 is in competition with India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, a domestically-designed and produced single-engine fighter, in some of those export markets. Both aircraft have roughly the same per-unit cost and similar capabilities. They are both competing in a tender to replace obsolete fighters of the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Malaysia has issued a request for information for procuring an initial batch of 12 light fighters by 2022, with an option for 24 more in the future.

The question is to what degree PAC will be able to handle these export orders. At the moment, the PAF is replacing its Chengdu F-7/Dassault Mirage III/5 squadrons with JF-17s at a rate of one squadron per year. It remains to be seen whether Pakistan can increase its aircraft production capacity in the years ahead and that will be a key indicator for the future success of the indigenization of Pakistani air power.