China, Pakistan to jointly export upgraded JF-17 jet fighter

BEIJING: China and Pakistan will jointly export an upgraded version of the JF-17 multi-role fighter jet co-produced by the two countries since 1998.

Officials from Aviation Industry Corporation of China ( AVIC) and the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) command said today at the ongoing Dubai Airshow that an upgraded version of the jointly developed JF-17 fighter jet is expected to be exported to more customers.

Briefing reporters at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, Liu Yu, Vice President of China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation, said the next generation of the JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft will satisfy the growing market demand from third parties "as the future JF-17 aircraft is a comprehensive elevation of the aircraft."

The future JF-17 will have more advanced capabilities, such as air-to-air refuelling, data link and electronic warfare, and will be integrated with more new guided weapons, state-run Xinhua quoted Liu as saying in Dubai.

A dual-seated version of the JF-17 fighter/trainer is also under development, added Liu.

China, which maintained close strategic relations with Pakistan military for long has recently reached USD five billion deal to provide eight submarines to its all-weather ally.

PAF Vice Marshal Arshad Malik said the Pakistani army expects the new version JF-17 jet to get into service by the end of 2016.

The JF-17 fighter is co-produced by AVIC and PAF since 1998 based on the principle of "joint investment, joint development, and sharing risks and returns."

At present, JF-17 fighter is already procured by a third party customer, and several potential customers are conducting or plan to conduct the evaluation of the JF-17 fighter, Xinhua report said without giving details.

The 14th Dubai International Airshow officially kicked off in Dubai yesterday and will run through Thursday.