Five Nations Interested In JF-17, Says Pak


The Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder, operated by the Pakistan Air Force has a daily flight display routine at the ongoing Dubai Air Show. In the words of one British journalist friend (and he didn't include this line in his dispatch), "the Pakistan government might as well slap a price sticker on them". Another friend at the show dubbed it the "Happy Hours fighter" -- in recognition of Pakistan's insistence that you could get three or more JF-17s for the price of one of any other modern production fighter. But that's just air show levity. The country is deadly serious about exporting the jet, and is working hard to make this happen. Pakistan's air force chief Rao Qamar Suleman heads the marketing effort at DXB11 -- he told journalists yesterday that five Middle East countries had shown interest in the JF-17.

The JF-17 has an undoubtedly impressive flight display at the show, and will be shoring up interest. Makes you wonder why India doesn't send a Tejas abroad. Surely it can take one of the LSPs off trials for a few days for the show -- Dubai isn't far. Bah.

Update @2.49PM: A PAF JF-17 crashed in Attock, Pakistan today, killing its pilot Sqn Ldr Muhammad Hussain. R.I.P. (Screen-grab / Khalid Khan)


JF-17 Not As Advanced As Tejas: Nawaz Sharif

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