Back جيه إف-17 ثاندر Arabic JF-17 Thunder Azerbaijani জেএফ-১৭ থান্ডার Bengali/Bangla CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder Czech Chengdu FC-1 German Chengdu/PAC JF-17 Thunder Spanish سی‌ای‌سی/پی‌ای‌سی جی‌اف-۱۷ تاندر Persian CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder Finnish Chengdu JF-17 Thunder French PAC/CAC JF-17 Thunder Galician

CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder

JF-17 Thunder
FC-1 Xiaolong
JF-17 Block 1 of the Pakistan Air Force
General information
TypeMultirole combat aircraft
National originChina / Pakistan
ManufacturerChengdu Aircraft Industry Group / Pakistan Aeronautical Complex
StatusIn service
Primary usersPakistan Air Force
Number built175 (production aircraft)
History
ManufacturedIn China: June 2007 – present
In Pakistan: January 2008 – present
Introduction date12 March 2007
First flight25 August 2003
VariantsJF-17 Block 1

JF-17 Block 2 JF-17B Block 2

JF-17 Block 3

The CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder (Urdu: جے ایف-17 گرج), or FC-1 Xiaolong (Chinese: 枭龙; pinyin: Xiāo Lóng; lit. 'Fierce Dragon'), is a fourth-generation,[1] lightweight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China.[2] It was designed and developed as a replacement for the third-generation A-5C, F-7P/PG, Mirage III, and Mirage 5 combat aircraft in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).[3] The JF-17 can be used for multiple roles, including interception, ground attack, anti-ship, and aerial reconnaissance. The Pakistani designation "JF-17" stands for "Joint Fighter-17", with the "Joint Fighter" denoting the joint Pakistani-Chinese development of the aircraft and the "-17" denoting that, in the PAF's vision, it is the successor to the F-16. The Chinese designation "FC-1" stands for "Fighter China-1".

The JF-17 can deploy diverse ordnance, including air-to-air, air-to-surface, and anti-ship missiles, guided and unguided bombs, 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.[4] The JF-17 is the backbone and workhorse of the PAF, complementing the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon at approximately half the cost,[5] with the Block II variant costing $25 million.[4] The JF-17 was inducted in the PAF in February 2010.[6][7]

Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder flies in front of the 26,660 ft high Nanga Parbat
Pakistan Air Force JF-17 armed with PL-5 Infrared homing air to air missile

Fifty-eight percent of the JF-17 airframe, including its front fuselage, wings, and vertical stabilizer, is produced in Pakistan, whereas forty-two percent is produced in China, with the final assembly and serial production taking place in Pakistan.[8][9] In 2015, Pakistan produced 16 JF-17s.[7] As of 2016, PAC has the capacity to produce 20 JF-17s annually. By April 2017, PAC had manufactured 70 Block 1 aircraft[10][11] and 33 Block 2 aircraft for the PAF.[12] By 2016, PAF JF-17s had accumulated over 19,000 hours of operational flight.[13] In 2017, PAC/CAC began developing a dual-seat variant known as the JF-17B for enhanced operational capability, conversion training, and lead-in fighter training.[14][15] The JF-17B Block 2 variant went into serial production at PAC in 2018 and 26 aircraft were delivered to the PAF by December 2020.[16] In December 2020, PAC began serial production of a more advanced Block 3 version of the aircraft with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a more powerful Russian Klimov RD-93MA engine, a larger and more advanced wide-angle Head-Up Display (HUD), electronic countermeasures, an additional hardpoint, and enhanced weapons capability.[17]

PAF JF-17s have seen military action, both air-to-air and air-to-ground, including bombing terrorist positions in North Waziristan near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border during anti-terror operations in 2014 and 2017 using both guided and unguided munitions,[18][9] shooting down an intruding Iranian military drone near the Pakistan-Iran Border in Balochistan in 2017,[19] in Operation Swift Retort during the 2019 Jammu and Kashmir airstrikes and aerial skirmish between India and Pakistan,[20] and during Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar in 2024 in which Pakistan launched a series of air and artillery strikes inside Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province targeting Baloch separatist groups. In March and December 2024, PAF JF-17s were used in cross-border airstrikes against Pakistani Taliban hideouts inside Afghanistan.[21] Nigerian Air Force (NAF) JF-17s have seen military action in anti-terrorism and anti-insurgency operations in Nigeria.[22] Myanmar Air Force has also frequently deployed its JF-17 fleet against various insurgent groups.[23]

  1. ^ "Pakistan signs agreement to supply JF-17 Block-III fighter jets to Azerbaijan". 26 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra - JF-17 Thunder Aircraft". www.pac.org.pk. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  3. ^ Osman, Ali (17 December 2015). "Pakistan's tool of war: PAF's rolling thunder". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b Gady, Franz-Stefan. "Report: JF-17 'Thunder' Block III Fighter Jet Production Is Underway". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  5. ^ "China's Expert Fighter Designer Knows Jets, Avoids America's Mistakes". International Relations and Security Network (ISN). Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  6. ^ Flightglobal – World Air Forces 2015 Archived 19 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), Flightglobal.com
  7. ^ a b "Pakistan meets JF-17 production target". Express Tribune. 29 December 2015. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Pride of Pakistan". www.airinternational.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b Khan, Bilal (17 October 2015). "JF-17 Block-2 and Block-3 Details Confirmed". quwa.org. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  10. ^ "PAF No.14 'Tail choppers' Squadron re-equipped with JF-17 Thunder jets". Dawn. 16 February 2017. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  11. ^ Khan, Bilal (7 December 2016). "Pakistan Aeronautical Complex delivered 70 JF-17S to the Pakistan Air Force". quwa.org. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  12. ^ Khan, Bilal (15 January 2017). "JF-17 Block-II production crosses 30 planes". quwa.org. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  13. ^ Gady, Franz-Stefan (3 May 2016). "Two-Seat Variant of China-Pakistan JF-17 Fighter Jet to Fly in 2016". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Pakistan, China jointly launch production of JF-17B fighter jets". The Indian Express. 28 April 2016. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  15. ^ Haider, Mateen (28 April 2016). "PAF eyes induction of JF-17B fighter jet by April 2017". dawn.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  16. ^ "PAC Kamra rolls out final 14 JF-17B fighters for Pakistan Air Force". Janes.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  17. ^ "PAF launches serial production of latest JF-17 Thunder Block III". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Fighter jets bomb militant hideouts in North Waziristan after Taliban attacks". Express Tribune. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  19. ^ "Iranian drone shot down by PAF, confirms FO". 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  20. ^ Warnes, Alan (19 March 2020). "Operation Swift Retort one year on". Key Publishing. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  21. ^ Hussain, Abid. "Pakistan air strikes in Afghanistan spark Taliban warning of retaliation". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  22. ^ "Amao: NAF Expects Delivery of 27 Fighter Jets, Attack Helicopters to Boost Fight against Terrorism – THISDAYLIVE". Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  23. ^ Davis, Anthony (11 January 2023). "Myanmar Air Force fiercely gunning to win the war". Asia Times. Retrieved 26 January 2025.

Rich TVX News Network Site

Rich TVX News Network Info

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search