JF-17 may soon be most widely operated combat aircraft in world

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 05 Jan 2023

KARACHI: A jet built by China and Pakistan may soon be the most widely operated combat aircraft in the world.

A report published in Indian media quoted Aviation Week, saying the JF-17 was only in service with three countries — Pakistan, Myanmar, and Nigeria — which operated a total of 145 as of October 2021.

According to the report, three JF-17 fighters of the Pakistani Air Force conducted aerial demonstrations at the Bahrain International Air Show earlier this month, and at the same time, Beijing was showcasing the JF-17 at the annual China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zuhai, China.

At the time, Aviation Week data showed that total was set to rise to 185 JF-17s by mid-decade — growth that would make it the most widely operated Chinese combat jet in service overseas by the end of 2023.

Developed by China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, the JF-17 first flew in 2003. The single-seat, single-engine jet is known in Pakistan as the JF-17 Thunder and as the FC-1 Xiaolong in China.

With a service ceiling of 50,000 feet and a top speed of about 1,200 mph, the JF-17 can perform several missions, including aerial intercept and ground attack. It can carry roughly 7,000 pounds of ordnance on seven hardpoints and is armed with a single twin-barrel 23 mm autocannon.

The report said that the first few JF-17s were made entirely in China, but Pakistan now did most of the production. At present, 58% of the aircraft is made in Pakistan and 42% in China.