New Delhi: After Myanmar and Nigeria, Iraq is likely to become the next country to procure the JF-17 ‘Thunder’ fighter, a joint venture between China and Pakistan, with media reports from Islamabad pegging the number of jets at 12.
This comes at a time when Pakistan is reeling under a severe economic crisis.
The Iraqi government had approved an outlay of $664 million for the purchase of 12 JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jets from the country after two years of negotiations, according to Pakistan media.
Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted Major General Yahya Rasool, the spokesperson for the Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, confirming Iraq’s plans to purchase “modern military equipment from many countries”, but did not specifically mention Pakistan.
In June, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had visited Iraq on a three-day tour.
The deal has an advantage with Chinese missiles being offered along with JF-17 as a package, Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd.), Director General of New Delhi-based Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), told ThePrint.
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JF-17’s journey
The JF-17 is a fourth-generation light-weight, multi-role fighter, co-developed by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC). The jet is powered by the Russian engine RD-93MA.
Inducted into its air force in 2007, Pakistan currently operates 50 Block III, the latest model of JF-17, while the numbers of earlier versions — Block I and II — stand at 120.
Myanmar had inked a deal in early 2016 to procure 16 JF-17s from China at a cost of $25 million each. The first batch of six aircraft were delivered to the Myanmar Air Force in 2018.
Last year, the Myanmar junta grounded the fleet due to maintenance issues, sources in the defence and security establishment said.
One reason for the grounding was that the electronics and avionics on board the fighter have some parts made in the European Union, they said. The EU had slapped several rounds of sanctions on Myanmar following the military coup in February 2021.
Myanmar based news portal Irrawaddy quoted analysts as saying that the Myanmar Air Force still cannot use JF-17s for combat four years after they were commissioned due to “poor accuracy”. This has led the country’s air force to rely on Russian-made Yak-130 and MiG-29 fighter jets and China-made K-8 fighters.
Another country that operates the JF-17 Thunder aircraft is Nigeria. The West African country bought three JF-17 fighter jets from Pakistan in 2021. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) uses an export version of the JF-17A Block 2.
In March, Argentina’s defence minister and ambassador to China discussed potential procurement of JF-17 fighters and armoured vehicles, according to the embassy. India is also looking to offer its indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas to the South American country.
Air Marshal Chopra (retd.) said that the JF-17 has been doing “alright despite some irritants in Myanmar”.
“Pakistan and China together are trying to build up exports through the sale of this jet. While 58 percent of the aircraft is built in Pakistan, China contributes 42 percent. However, the designing has taken place in China even though certain minor modifications were done in Pakistan,” he added.
Comparing the Tejas with this fighter, he said, “The LCA would be at least half a generation higher than the JF-17, but the LCA numbers are only 34 in service. So, on the numbers count we are way behind.”
The LCA flew before the JF-17, but the inductions of the JF-17 are much higher because the Chinese are supporting the venture, he added.
“The jet is cheaper than the LCA. Pakistan builds close to 25 aircraft a year while India is still at about 8 aircraft a year. This makes a huge difference,” he said. The deal has an advantage with Chinese missiles being offered along with JF 17 as a package Air Marshal Chopra added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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