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CAS Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan Inaugurates Indigenous Mass Production Of JF-17 Block 3 By Installing First Rivet:
All the Blessings to ALLAH ALMIGHT and Congratulations to the Great and Brave 220 Million PAKISTANI NATION as PAKISTAN Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra has formally launched the indigenous production work of PAKISTAN’s Next Generation JF-17 Block-III Thunder Aircraft. CHIEF OF AIR STAFF (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan inaugurates the indigenous production of PAKISTAN’s Next Generation Fighter Jet JF-17 Block-III by installing the first rivet on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, PAKISTAN AIR FORCE (PAF) Media Wing Head Director General Public Relations (DGPR) said in an official statement.
The ceremony for the in-country production was held at the PAKISTAN Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra, which was attended by the CHIEF OF AIR STAFF (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan and CHINESE Ambassador to PAKISTAN, H.E, Mr. Nong Rong.
During the ceremony, PAKISTAN AIR FORCE CHIEF (CAS) Air Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan kicks-off the mass production of JF-17 Block-3 Fighter Aircraft by installing the first rivet.
“Block-III is the most advanced JF-17 variant and represents the cutting edge of aerospace technology and will enable PAF to maintain credible deterrence under the evolving geopolitical environment,” DGPR PAF said.
Speaking on the occasion, CHINESE Ambassador to PAKISTAN, H.E, Mr. Nong Rong said that JF-17 Thunder Fighter Jet is a clear manifestation of the evergreen cooperation between the Two Brotherly Countries that are spanning over decades. The CHINESE Ambassador assured that CHINA will continue all out support to its Iron Brother PAKISTAN for the ongoing and future ventures in all domains of cooperation.
“H.E. Mr. Nong Rong highlighted JF-17 as a shining example of cooperation b/w two countries over the last two decades for a joint venture from drawing board to successful materialization. He assured of CHINA’s continued support for ongoing & future joint ventures in all domains,” DGPR added.
Speaking on the occasion, CHIEF OF AIR STAFF (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan thanked Iron Brother CHINA for delivering 14 JF-17 Bravo Dual-Seat Fighter Jet and helping PAKISTAN to start the mass production of JF-17 Block-III in the Sacred Country PAKISTAN.
“The dual-seat JF-17 aircraft are fully mission capable for the entire spectrum of combat operations and will boost PAF’s operational readiness besides fulfilling the training needs of PAF,” DGPR added.
PAKISTAN AIR FORCE Air Commodore (r) Kaiser Tufail gave an insight of JF-17 Block 3 by saying that “With AESA Radar, the JF-17 Thunder should be able to resist enemy jamming [via its] many small transmit-receive modules (TRM), making it a much more survivable platform.”
It is pertinent to mention that JF-17 Block 3 Fighter Jet is 4.5++ Generation Advanced Fighter Jet that features KLJ-7A Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, 3-axis Fly-by-Wire control system, Helmet Mounted Display and Sight (HMD/S) System, a single panel Multifunctional Display (MFD) cockpit display, Integrated Electronic Warfare (EW) Suit, among others.
One of the revolutionary features of JF-17 Thunder Block-3 is its KLJ-7A Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar that can simultaneously track and engaged multiple aerial and ground based targets with pinpoint accuracy.
With all these upgradation and modernization, the JF-17 Thunder Block 3 can easily compete the latest US F-16V Fighter Jet and French Rafale in terms of armament, agility, combat readiness and speed.
In July 2020, PAKISTAN AIR FORCE and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) CHINA has selected the upgraded and high-tech Russian RD-93MA Engine that will feature 9300 kgf that is about one ton more thrust than the RD-93 Engines that was used in Block-I and Block-II of JF-17 Thunder Aircraft.
Apart from starting the indigenous manufacturing of JF-17 Block 3 Aircraft, the Senior official of PAKISTAN AIR FORCE has indicated to place an order of 62 JF-17 Block 3 Aircraft to its Iron Brother CHINA by the year of 2024. The prototype of the JF-17 Thunder Block 3 began in early 2020 at CHINA.
It is pertinent to mention that CHINA State owned Defense Giant AVIC has said that both Iron Brothers PAKISTAN and CHINA has shortened the production timeline of JF-17 Thunder by 15 days, it means that the first JF-17 Thunder Block 3 would fly in the Sacred Airspace of PAKISTAN in less than a month.
Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, was the Chief Guest of the ceremony while Ambassador of Peoples’ Republic of China in Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Nong Rong attended the ceremony as guest of honour. #PrideOfPakJF17
— DGPR (AIR FORCE) (@DGPR_PAF) December 30, 2020
H.E. Mr. Nong Rong highlighted JF-17 as a shining example of cooperation b/w two countries over the last two decades for a joint venture from drawing board to successful materialization. He assured of China’s continued support for ongoing & future joint ventures in all domains.
— DGPR (AIR FORCE) (@DGPR_PAF) December 30, 2020
The dual-seat JF-17 aircraft are fully mission capable for entire spectrum of combat operations and will boost PAF’s operational readiness besides fulfilling the training needs of PAF.#PrideOfPakJF17 pic.twitter.com/zwNvGFLMcC
— DGPR (AIR FORCE) (@DGPR_PAF) December 30, 2020
It seems like more sleepless nights coming ahead for india as the JF-17 Block 3 Fighter Jet can also take on the indian air force rafale fighter jet, which indian air force and indian media termed it as their weapon of the century.
The JF-17 Block 3 is fully integrated with the PL-15 BVR missile that has a total range of 300 Kilometers. One fire of the missile can easily shoot down the indian air force rafale in a possible future full-scale conflict.
