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PAF To Induct First 12 JF-17B Combat Aircraft In Its Arsenal Very Soon:
All the PRAISE to ALLAH ALMIGHTY and More Blessings to the Best Great PAKISTANI NATION as PAKISTAN AIR FORCE all set to induct First 12 twin-seat variant of JF-17B aircraft in its Arsenal very soon in the near future, revealed by PAKISTAN AIR CHIEF Air Marshal Mujahid (ACM) Anwar Khan in an Interview.
PAKISTAN AIR FORCE has decided to induct a total of 26 numbers of JF-17B Aircraft in its Fleet. Out of 26 Fighter Jets, PAKISTAN AIR FORCE is fully ready to induct first 12 Jf-17B Twin Seater aircraft in its fleet sooner than expected.
It is pertinent to mention that out of a total of 12 JF-17B Aircraft, 8 numbers of Fighter Jets built in PAKISTAN at PAKISTAN Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra, whereas the 4 aircrafts completed by CHINA’s state owned Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC), where the JF-17B Aircraft simply known as the FC-1 Xialong. The delivery of the remaining 14 Aircrafts is expected to be completed by the coming year of 2021.
PAKISTAN Aeronautical Complex (PAC) kamra has already completed the production of the first batch of eight JF-17B twin-seat Fighter aircraft last month on December 27th, 2019. PAKISTAN AIR CHIEF Air Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan and CHINA’s Ambassador to PAKISTAN Yao Jing attended the rolls out ceremony of the first batch of JF-17 Bravo Fighter Aircraft.
There is a lot of significance of the JF-17B Aircraft in PAKISTAN AIR FORCE Fleet. The newly inducted JF-17B Twin-Seat fighter aircraft will be available for both Attack and Training variant.
PAKISTAN AIR CHIEF Air Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan is quite optimistic that the induction of twin-seat JF-17B Fighter Aircraft in PAF Fleet will help to further streamline the processes of medium and advanced level training of PAF Pilots.
“The JF-17 pilots are currently being posted to Lockheed Martin F-16, Chengdu F-7PG or Dassault Mirage IIIEA ROSE aircraft before converting to the JF-17, But they will start going straight to a JF-17 OCU [operational conversion unit] after completing their advanced jet training.” PAK AIR CHIEF Air Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan said in his statement during the interview.
This “will ensure that pilots transitioning to the SINO-PAKISTANI jet are a lot younger than they are now,” PAKISTAN AIR CHIEF Air Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan further added.
It is pertinent to mention that the first prototype of JF-17B Twin-Seat Fighter Aircraft completed in 2016 and it made its successful maiden flight on April 2017.
The JF-17B features a dual-seat and it can be used for both training and attacking purpose. Furthermore, the JF-17B also features the added fuel capacity and a deeper dorsal spine for capacity enhancement.
On the other hand, PAKISTAN and CHINA have also been working on the JF-17 Block III variant and both counties have decided to use the CHINESE KLJ-7A Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar made by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET). The first prototype of JF-17 Block-3 variant made its successful maiden flight back on December 17th at Chengdu, CHINA.
The newly appointed PAKISTAN Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra, Air Marshal Syed Noman Ali further said that after the successful maiden flight of the first prototype of JF-17 Block III variant back in December 2019, the second prototype of JF-17 Block III is about to complete.
The second prototype of JF-17 Block III variant will be equipped with the newly selected KLJ-7A AESA Radar and it will assist in the evaluation and testing process of the Aircraft in May this year.
Reportedly, the PAKISTAN’s New indigenous JF-17 Thunder Block-III variant would be a 4.5++ Generation Aircraft and it would be equipped with the digital Helmet Mounted Display and Sight System, a three-axis- fly-by-wire digital flight control system, new Electronic Warfare and On-board counter measure system and CHINESE KLJ-7A Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar system.
With all the upgradation and advancements, the PAKISTAN’s indigenous JF-17 Thunder Block-III Aircraft can easily compete with the US F-16V Aircraft in terms of armament. Agility, performance and speed.
