China and Pakistan have a pact to keep the technology of their jointly developed JF-17 Thunder multirole combat aircraft away from the United States and India because of its superiority to America's F-16 fighter jet, claims the Beijing-based Sina Military Network.
The Block II variation of the JF-17, known as the FC-1 Xiaolong by China, recently entered into service for the "Minhas" No. 2 squadron of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The new and improved configuration of the lightweight fighter jet is said to include improved avionics and better software, as well as a fixed air-to-air refueling probe.
Minhas is the third PAF squadron to be upgraded to the JF-17, which is expected to replace the F-7P, a Chinese-made fighter that can be equipped with C-802A anti-ship missiles.
The JF-17 features an aerodynamic shape similar to the US Navy's F/A-18 and is powered by a high fuel efficiency Russian RD-93 afterburning turbofan. The aircraft's flight performance is said to be far superior to that of second-generation fighters, with its climb rate, maneuvering speed and acceleration making up for a relatively low top speed of Mach 1.6.
Read the full story at Want China Times