ISLAMABAD: Pak-china made fighter get JF-17 Thunder is on its full swing at Paris Air Show, now fighter jet has secured first export deal.
“A contract has been signed with an Asian country,” said Air Commodore Khalid Mahmood, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer who leads the sales and marketing efforts for the type.
However the number of the plane and the customer is kept in serrate while the deliveries will start in 2017.
He says 11 countries are looking at the type, which mirrors previous comments made by Chinese defence export agency Catic, which also markets the aircraft, and Pakistan Air Force officials.
Khalid also provided an update of Pakistan’s induction of the type. So far, 54 examples have been delivered. The first 50 were originally delivered in a Block I configuration, and these are in the process of being updated to a Block II standard.
The Block II configuration features improved avionics and better software, and adds a fixed air-to-air refueling probe.
An additional 46 aircraft will be delivered in the Block II configuration. A subsequent 50 aircraft, which will push Pakistan’s fleet to 150 examples, will have a Block III configuration. These will all be delivered by the end of 2018.
The aircraft’s developers are still working out the specifications of the Block III aircraft, but upgrades could include an active electronically scanned array (AESA) or passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar, says Khalid.
