Pakistan Unveils Plan For Ambitious Twin Engine JF-17 Fighter Derivative: Chinese Support Remains Vital

<p >The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex has unveiled a design for a new twin engine fourth generation fighter aircraft, with the platform designated the JF-17 PFX and intended to retain considerable commonality with the <a href=" target="_blank">JF-17 Block III </a>currently jointly produced by Pakistan and neighbouring China. The fighter is intended to enter service in the 2030s, and to have completed development before the end of the current decade. The development of the JF-17 into a larger twin engine variant represents a particularly unusual program concept, with the new aircraft expected to have significantly higher production and operational costs. Expected advantages include the ability carry a significantly larger radar, a higher weapons carrying capacity, a longer range and a superior flight performance. The JF-17 PFX is expected to be able to operate at higher altitudes, retain superior manoeuvrability, and potentially be able to fly supersonically without using its afterburners – a capability known as supercruise. The fighter is likely to maintain the same primary armaments as the JF-17 Block III, including the Chinese PL-10 and PL-15 missiles for air to air combat. </p><p ><img src=" title="Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Block III"></p><p >Pakistan’s defence sector had previously announced plans to develop a fifth generation fighter under Project AZM, with the unveiling of the ‘4+ generation’ JF-17 PFX potentially coming as a result of frustrations in realising a fifth generation capability. Developing the new twin engine fighter may be seen as a stopgap to bring industrial capabilities forwards, which could then pave the way for development of a fifth generation fighter jointly with China. Nevertheless, Pakistan’s local tech sector suffers from severe limitations, and while the JF-17 was built primarily to meet Pakistani requirements, over 95 percent of its technologies are of Chinese origin. The JF-17 Block III in particular <a href=" target="_blank">benefits from a range</a> of technological advances made by China’s combat aviation sector during the development of the country’s<a href=" target="_blank"> first fifth generation fighter the J-20</a>, including composite materials, active electronically scanned array radars, helmet mounted displays, and new generations of engine technologies. Indeed, the latest JF-17 variant’s fighter’s primary air to air missiles were originally developed for the J-20 specifically to fit inside its internal weapons bays, and were subsequently widely deployed by ‘4+ generation’ fighters. </p><p ><img src=" title="FC-31 Prototype"></p><p >In parallel to work on the JF-17 PFX, the Pakistan Air Force has continued to procure the JF-17 Block III in significant numbers, while also <a href=" target="_blank">maintaining orders</a> for the larger and more capable J-10C ‘4+ generation’ fighter from China. The two single engine fighters use many of the same technologies, with the J-10C being larger and having higher operational costs, but also boasting a significantly larger and more powerful sensor suite and a far superior flight performance. The J-10C’s combat potential is <a href=" target="_blank">estimated to exceed</a> that of any fighter deployed by neighbouring states, including neighbouring Iran’s Su-35s currently on order, and India’s Su-30MKI.</p><p >Alongside acquisitions of the JF-17 and J-10C, Pakistani officials in January stated that talks were also underway for the<a href=" > acquisition of FC-31</a> fifth generation fighters from China – an aircraft well over twice as large as the JF-17 and the first in the country’s fleet with a twin engine configuration. The large majority of fighters in Pakistan’s current fleet are very light single engine fighters, which are significantly smaller and cheaper to operate than even standard lightweight fighters such as the J-10 and F-16, namely the JF-17 and older Mirage III, Mirage 5 and J-7. Acquiring both the FC-31 and the J-10C will already significantly increase the proportion of larger fighters in service, which leaves questions surrounding the country’s ability to accommodate another medium weight twin engine fighter developed under the JF-17 PFX program. </p>