By Benjamin David Baker
Malaysia recently expressed an interest in the JF-17 Thunder.
Christmas is a time for reflection, celebration and… buying really expensive gadgets which might or might not be obsolete in a few years. As Robert Farley noted earlier, several states in Asia are getting in the holiday spirit with the presentation of so-called “fifth generation” combat aircraft.
Furthermore, as I’ve covered the last couple of weeks, fourth generation birds are still in high demand throughout the region. Dassualt’s Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing’s F/A- 18 Super Hornet, Saab’s Gripen, and the Sukhoi Su-35 are all being peddled as options for prospective buyers.
As Franz-Stefan Gady has reported for The Diplomat, the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder(known in China as the FC-1 Xiaolong) is also trying to compete in this crowded field. Developed as a joint venture between China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAC) and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), the JF-17 is supposed to be a low-cost multirole alternative to the more expensive fighters currently on the market. According to the Defense Industry Daily, the aircraft isn’t a top-tier competitor, but does represent a clear step up from Pakistan’s Chinese MiG-19/21 derivatives and French Mirage III/V fighters. This positioning addresses a budget-conscious, “good enough” performance market segment that western companies once dominated, but have since nearly abandoned in recent decades.
First deployed in an operational capacity, the JF-17 Thunder has a conventional aerodynamic layout. The aircraft is fitted with Russian Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine with afterburner capabilities. It is a derivative of the RD-33, used on the MiG-29. In 2007, a contract was signed to supply 150 RD-93 engines for the JF-17, exported to Pakistan. China is also developing an indigenous turbofan engine, which is a copy of the RD-93, but has some modifications. It is designated as the WS-13 (Tianshan-21). The Thunder multi-role fighters delivered to Pakistan are fitted with Italian Grifo S-7 multi-track, multi-mode pulse Doppler radar. It has look-down, shoot-down capability.
Read the full story at The Diplomat