Déjà Vu: Pakistan and Nigeria to Sign JF-17 Fighter
Jet Deal in November
Pakistan and Nigeria purportedly already inked a memorandum
of understanding covering the sale.
September 19, 2016
Pakistan appears to be close in securing its first international
customer for the joint Pakistani-Chinese Pakistan Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu
Aerospace Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 Thunder multirole combat aircraft,
according to media reports.
Pakistan
and Nigeria have allegedly inked a memorandum of understanding for the purchase
of an unknown number of JF-17 multirole fighter jets a senior official from
Pakistan’s Defense Export Promotion Organization (DEPO) told IHS
Jane’s Defense Weekly during
the Africa Aerospace and Defense exhibition, held in the second week of
September in South Africa.
It
is unclear whether this will be the first JF-17 export contract, since Myanmar
in 2015 has allegedly placed an order with China for a squadron of JF-17
fighter jets, although this has not been officially confirmed. Throughout 2015
and 2016, Pakistani officials, when
questioned by reporters, repeatedly have stated that a contract has
been signed with an Asia country without, however, ever naming it.
Myanmar could be an ideal candidate for Pakistani-Chinese
military hardware as The Diplomat noted
back in June 2014 when the first
rumors emerged of a possible China-Myanmar JF-17 deal:
Although the report[of is unconfirmed, it is extremely plausible. To
begin with, Myanmar has previously operated or currently operates a number of
Chinese-made aircraft including: 48 NAMC
A-5C fighters, 52 Chengdu F-7M Airguard fighters and 4 Y-8 medium lift
transports. The Southeast Asian nation’s air force also recently
purchased Sky 02A Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from China, and built
domestic copies of them.
Most notably, Myanmar is also believed to operate 4-10
Karakorum-8 (JiaoLian-8) jet assault and trainer planes, which were also
jointly produced by China and Pakistan. Some reports indicate that
the deal for the K-8s also included a license in-country component.
“The
JF-17 is a lightweight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft, powered by a
Russian-designed but Chinese-built Klimov RD-93 (RD-33 derivative) turbofan,
capable of reaching a top speed of Mach 1.6. The fighter purportedly has an
operational range of around 1,200 kilometers (745 miles),” I explained
elsewhere. Furthermore I noted (See: “Will Kuwait Purchase Pakistan’s
New Fighter Jet?”):
Pakistan produced a total number of 16 JF-17 Thunder aircraft in
2015 and intends to increase production to 24 fighter aircraft in 2016.
Pakistan produces 58 percent of the airframe and China 42 percent. The JF-17 is
intended to replace the PAF’s fleet of Dassault Mirage III/5 fighter jets by
2o20. Overall, there are 65 JF-17 aircraft currently in service with the PAF.
Islamabad
and Abuja are expected to sign a final contract in November of this year. IHS
Jane’s Defense Weeklyreports that Nigeria’s 2016 federal budget
allocated around $25 million for three JF-17 fighters jets and approximately $9
million for ten 10 PAC Super Mushshak trainer aircraft, a PAC licence-built
variant of the Saab MFI-17 Supporter aircraft.
Original
post: thediplomat
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