The Pakistani government has approached China to make the JF-17 (Block 3) Jet fighter plane available for the Pakistani Air Force (PAF). As per reports, Pakistan has asked Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China to deliver 13 JF-17 (Block 2) to Pakistani Air Force by July 2019. As per Indian Air Force (IAF) intelligence, the Pakistani Air Force is in the process of including 62 JF-17 jets before India gets the 36 Rafale jets. As per the agreement with Dassault Aviation of France, the delivery of Rafale jets will commence from 2020.
The PAC JF-17 Thunder is a lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China. The JF-17 can be used for aerial reconnaissance, ground attack and aircraft interception. The JF-17 can deploy diverse ordnance, including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, and a 23 mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel autocannon. Powered by a Guizhou WS-13 or Klimov RD-93 afterburning turbofan, it has a top speed of Mach 1.6. The JF-17 is to become the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), complementing the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon at half the cost.
Pakistan has asked Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China to deliver 13 JF-17 (Block 2) to Pakistani Air Force by July 2019. They have also asked the Chinese firm to deliver the more advanced two seater- JF-17 Block-2 jets by 2020. Pakistani Air Force plans to induct 22 JF-17 (Block-2) jets before 2020. Pakistan and China are also jointly developing JF-17 (Block-3) jets which is a fourth-generation fighter jet. Pakistani Air Force is expecting the new variants of JF-17 (Block-3) to be delivered from 2020 which will be more powerful than the already existing JF-17 series. Pakistan plans to induct 28 new JF-17 (Block-3) till 2022.
