The air chief said that the production of the Block III variant is expected to begin later this year.
Islamabad (Pakistan Point News – 16th May, 2019) The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is all set to get three more JF-17 Thunder block II fighter jets.
In an interview to a foreign publication, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan said that the final three Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) JF-17 Thunder Block II multirole combat aircraft are set to be delivered to the PAF by late June.
The aircraft are part of an order placed by the PAF in late 2017 for an additional 12 platforms that are currently on the Aircraft Manufacturing Factory (AMF) final assembly line at PAC Kamra. AMF has built more than 100 JF-17s since the first JF-17 (serialled 09-111) was rolled out in November 2009.
The air chief said that the production of the Block III variant is expected to begin later this year.
He said that the PAF will make a decision on one of the two new Chinese AESA [airborne electronically scanned-array] radars we are currently evaluating for these aircraft.
He noted that, although supportability and cost will be factors in the decision, the service hopes to have the aircraft operating with the new radar by March 2020.
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.
While latest fighter planes depend on avionics, the JF-17 Thunder plane has the world's most innovative avionics that can compete with any fourth generation aircraft.
