JF-17/FC-1 Fighter Aircraft thread
- Thread starter johnqh
- Start date
Initially it was denied but DRFM was contracted separately after some time
"That would leave Russia, which might supply Ankara with Su-35s as an interim solution until the Su-57 is available for export in significant numbers, which could well take several years. The latest variants of Pakistan’s fourth-generation JF-17 fighter could be another alternative."
Hopefully our brothers can get this whole mess with the F-35 sorted out ASAP, whichever alternative they decide to go with.
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I doubt the USA would deny Turkey a similar F-16 upgrade to the one being provided to Pakistan. Perhaps not the latest and greatest but good enough. Despite whatever the USA might want with denying Russia military export sales revenues, Turkey is a NATO country.
The talk about Russia using the S-400 to snoop on the F-35 in Turkey is bollocks. They don't allow Flanker sales either. They don't allow any major Russian military export if they can. A lot of US politicians have stated more than once they simply want to starve the Russian economy of military exports so they can reduce their amount of foreign exchange reserves. I think it is also a matter of making other countries defense systems more pliable to US control and intervention.
The talk about Russia using the S-400 to snoop on the F-35 in Turkey is bollocks. They don't allow Flanker sales either. They don't allow any major Russian military export if they can. A lot of US politicians have stated more than once they simply want to starve the Russian economy of military exports so they can reduce their amount of foreign exchange reserves. I think it is also a matter of making other countries defense systems more pliable to US control and intervention.
It's why the JF-17 is so important for Pakistan. Compatible with Chinese or Russian engines make it ever more interesting. They don't know when they will have to rely only on east military sources.
It doesn’t have a place in PLAAF. The “low” end is already occupied by the J-10.
Doubt it, seems unlikely the JF-17 would be much cheaper than the J-10. Another rumor I heard was JF-17 was planned on being at least some part of PLAAF, but PAF wanted too many specific features it became PAF exclusive.
The JF-17 is built to be able to fire anti-ship missiles and a few other guided air to ground/anti-surface weapons. It's unlikely that China would have wanted the JF-17 for PLAAF to do much any close air support or anti-shipping or anti-radiation etc. It would be a cheap and plentiful regional air superiority only focused. An F-5 kind of role. Maybe this is what those rumours meant by PAF wanting more high end features like being able to do those tasks, which they require for their purposes but the PLAAF will have no use for simply because PLAAF has a range of superior aircraft that can do those jobs better - longer range, better sensors, more energy. So PLAAF would have preferred an even cheaper and faster to build fighter but PAF needs a backbone fighter at least capable of those extra things. This raises costs to an amount that PLAAF is better off just going with more J-10s and not having the headache of adding another logistics line.
Anyway it still sounds like the rumour has little substance because the bigger issue is the PLAAF just doesn't want to replace every single J-7 headed for retirement. I don't think the PLAAF thinks in this way. J-20 isn't a replacement for J-10 or J-16. Not every F-16 is being replaced by a F-35. The J-10 is overall a better fighter and more suited for PLAAF's needs for countering high tech adversaries. The JF-17 isn't 80% as good because it's 80% the cost in a pure numbers game of replacing retiring fighters.
If PLAAF didn’t advance as quickly as it did then there might’ve been room for JF-17. There was even a backup plan for the J-10 (J-7 variant with belly intake) in case the development hit a snag. Both domestic flankers and J-10s proceeded smoothly and the J-20 was ready in record time, helping PLAAF convert from a defensive to an offensive air force.