Can Pakistan's JF-17 Become Developing World's Most Widely Deployed Fighter Jet?

[Riaz Haq]

Worldwide demand for the JF-17 fighter jet, jointly developed by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG), is surging. It is attracting buyers in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. At just $40 million a piece, it is a combat-proven flying machine with no western political strings attached. It has enormous potential as the lowest-cost 4.5 generation fighter jet featuring AESA radar, enhanced electronics, and superior weapons systems. 

Pakistan PFX Concept Fighter. Source: Raksha Anirveda

In addition to the Pakistan Air Force, it is currently deployed by the air forces of Azerbaijan, Myanmar and Nigeria. Multi-billion dollar orders are in the pipeline from several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Libya and Sudan. Bangladesh is reportedly negotiating to purchase JF-17s in the near future. These orders are not just one-time purchases; they include service and training contracts, as well as spare parts and future upgrades. The US-based business publication Bloomberg recently reported: "After Pakistan said it used the jets to great effect in its brief conflict with India last year, at least five countries have expressed interest in buying them. That sudden demand may put the country’s defense industry in a crunch".  So the question now is: Can Pakistan deliver? 

Currently, Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) has the capacity to manufacture up to 20 JF-17s per year, sufficient to fill the orders from the Pakistan Air Force. It uses a Pakistani airframe, Chinese-made KLJ-7A AESA radar and Russian Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine. Additional capacity is being added at PAC to meet rapidly growing demand. A Chinese aviation expert told China's Global Times that this could be a "sweet problem" for Pakistan, as backed by strong order demand, the country's aviation industry is expected to develop rapidly, and potential capacity constraints are ultimately not a true concern given China's support for Pakistan in manufacturing this type of fighter jet. 

The JF-17 is opening doors for Pakistan’s defense industry. The country is emerging as a major arms supplier to developing countries in Asia and Africa.  Talks underway with at least 13 countries for JF-17 jets, drones and weapons, with several negotiations at an advanced stage.

Azerbaijan, Myanmar, Nigeria and Sudan have all made significant arms purchases from Pakistan in recent years.  Azerbaijan expanded its order for JF-17 Thunder Block III multi-role fighter jets from Pakistan from 16 to 40 aircraft. The recent order extends a 2024 contract worth $1.6 billion to modernize Baku’s airborne combat fleet to $4.6 billion. This makes Azerbaijan the largest export customer of the Pakistan-made warplane. Bangladesh is negotiating purchase of up to 32 JF-17 Thunder Block III aircraft from Pakistan. 

In the Middle East  Pakistan has orders to supply JF-17s to Libya and Saudi Arabia. In a deal with Libya, Pakistan will sell over two dozen JF-17 fighter jets and 12 Super Mushak trainer aircraft used for basic pilot training.  Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in negotiations to convert about $2bn of Saudi loans into a deal to buy JF-17 fighter jets, according to Reuters. 

In Africa, Pakistan has recently signed a $1.5 billion contract to supply combat drones and military trainer aircraft to Sudan. The order includes 150 armored vehicles, 220 drones and 10 K-8 Karakorum trainer/light attack aircraft.  Earlier in 2021, Pakistan sold three JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and ten Super Mushshak trainer aircraft to Nigeria in a deal worth nearly $200 million. From 2018 to 2021, Pakistan sold 11 JF-17 Thunder Block I aircraft to Myanmar. 

Air forces of about a dozen developing nations are buying and deploying Pakistani made aircrafts. The reasons for their choice of combat-tested Pakistan manufactured airplanes include advanced BVR (beyond visual range) features, affordability and ease of acquisition, maintenance and training.

Pakistan started developing defense hardware for import substitution to reduce external dependence and to save hard currency. Now the country's defense industry is coming of age to lead the way to high value-added manufactured exports.

Pakistan has unveiled its PFX (Pakistan Fighter Experimental) program as a significant upgrade to its JF-17 joint program with China. The new upgrade will have a number of stealth features ranging from the use of radar-absorbing composite materials and diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI) to internal weapons bay (IWB) which will significantly reduce the aircraft's radar signature. It is targeted for completion by the end of this decade. In addition, the PFX's twin-engine design will improve maneuverability and allow greater payload capacity. 

The program is part of Pakistan's broader strategy to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and strengthen the domestic defense industry. Currently, 58% of JF-17 components are manufactured locally by PAC, but Pakistan aims to increase this share to achieve full production autonomy for the PFX. It is not just about the PAF modernization but also about positioning Pakistan as an important player in the global military aviation market. 

The PFX is an evolution of a plan that Pakistan announced in 2017 to develop and produce 5th generation fighter planes. It is part of Pakistan Air Force's highly ambitious Project Azm that includes building Kamra Aviation City dedicated to education, research and development and manufacturing of advanced fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and weapon systems.

The PAF has already started replacing its aging fleet with the induction of the Chinese J10C fighter jets which are considered 4.5 Gen. The J10-C has stealth features like diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI).  Its BVR capability is supported by PL-15 missiles, with an engagement range of up to 200 kilometers, facilitating long-range target engagements. 

The PAF has also begun the process of acquiring 5th generation Chinese J35 fighter jets. The delivery of 40 J35 fighters to Pakistan is expected within two years, potentially altering regional dynamics, particularly concerning India. 

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[Riaz Haq]

Zohaib Ahmed 🇵🇰🇵🇸
@Zohaib_Author
Pakistan’s presence at WDS 2026 goes beyond display and into capability signaling.

With the SMASH hypersonic anti-ship missile, the AI-enabled YALGHAR loitering munition, long-range strike systems, fighters, UAVs, electronic warfare, and digital battlefield tools, the exhibition outlines a maturing, export-oriented defense industry and deeper Pakistan–Saudi industrial alignment.

Read the full article to see how these systems fit into the emerging regional security architecture.

https://zohaibauthor.com/2026/02/08/pakistans-defense-sector-at-the...

https://x.com/Zohaib_Author/status/2020830787726139634?s=20

[Riaz Haq]

From Ahmad Faruqui:

Does Price matter when a country is shopping around for a fighter jet?

If the country is located in the Global South, it matters a lot. Of course, it is not just the Price but also the Product that matters. Every country wants a great fighter jet but at an affordable Price.

There are relatively few fighter jets that meet both criteria. Pakistan's JF-17 Thunder, produced jointly with China, is one of those that seems to meet both criteria.

Besides Price and Product, Promotion matters a lot. Pakistan's aerial encounter with India in May 2025 provided the perfect promotion opportunity for the JF-17. The PAF shot down several IAF fighters. The jet, in conjunction with the J-10 fighter, was now combat proven.

And, finally, there is the last P of marketing a product: Promotion. Soon after the aerial encounter, Pakistan started promoting the JF-17 by reaching out to several countries in the Global South that were in the market for a modern fighter jet.

The JF-17 Thunder checked all four Ps of marketing: Price, Product, Promotion and Place. It was a textbook case study.

Export orders for the aircarft by several countries located in Asia and Africa surged exponentially.

"An exhilarated Khawaja Asif [Pakistan's Defense Minister] wasted no time in saying that now the aircraft has been tested in combat, “[W]e are receiving so many orders [from other countries] that Pakistan may not need the IMF in six months.”

"If Asif’s statement is true, it would represent a breakthrough in Pakistan’s long-term struggle to boost the export of manufactured goods so that the balance of trade turns positive, the need to borrow money from the IMF and the Gulf Arab nations diminishes or is eliminated, and the economy takes-off like thunder.

"The JF-17 is seen “as a market disruptor due to its affordable price tag and, more importantly, its recent success in combat,” says Manoj Harjani, research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. It is “Not hard to imagine the JF-17 becoming more widely adopted, especially by militaries that cannot afford fighters produced by Western companies.”

[Riaz Haq]

@AJEnglish

Pakistan has turned last year’s conflict with India into a bonanza for its arms industry. For Project Force, Al Jazeera's @alexgatopoulos looks at how Islamabad's defence industry has boosted arms sales.



https://x.com/ajenglish/status/2024565127152889908?s=61&t=mgTxr...

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How Pakistan Is Busting The Great Power Monopoly On Air Power
The industry here is showing how emerging states are gaining leverage through the democratization ... of weapons


https://responsiblestatecraft.org/pakistan-air-force-fighter-jets/


It was a familiar refrain heard through the packed halls of the Munich Security Conference this year — soliloquies on the “decades-long prosperous international order” now under unprecedented strain. The gathering, as ever, was an echo chamber of transatlantic anxiety, tinged with denial about the steady unraveling of Western primacy.

Thousands of miles away, however, a more consequential transformation is unfolding.

Inside the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, visitors moved through halls lined with scaled-down models of fighter jets and combat drones, pausing at flight simulators where students honed their skills, and observed engineers guiding startups through prototype development.

More than an industrial showcase, NASTP captured a structural shift reshaping global security, as airpower is steadily democratized and credible aerial capability passes from the monopoly of wealthy Western states into the hands of emerging powers in the Global South.

For much of the modern era, scenes like this would have been unthinkable outside a narrow circle of elite powers. Advanced airpower demanded massive defense budgets, well-developed technological ecosystems, and political alignment with Western security networks that controlled access to cutting-edge aircraft, avionics and precision weapons.

Air superiority became the strategic privilege of close U.S. allies, the Soviet Union/Russia, and the handful of wealthy states able to sustain the financial and diplomatic costs of maintaining modern fleets. Export controls, sanctions regimes and political conditionalities ensured that control of the skies remained tightly guarded. Today, however, that long-standing monopoly is steadily eroding.

An example of this monopoly was U.S. control of the F-16, one of the most coveted fighter aircraft of the Cold War. Produced by General Dynamics, the multirole jet combined air-to-air combat capability with precision strike, a versatility it demonstrated in 1981 when Israeli F-16s destroyed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor.

For Pakistan, the F-16 became the geopolitical reward for serving as Washington’s frontline ally in expelling the Soviets from Afghanistan after 1980, while its rival India remained largely dependent on Soviet aircraft during the Cold War. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and increasing tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan after 2001, led to a strategic regional realignment in South Asian arms procurement, and the erosion of Western dominance over advanced airpower.

The shift became impossible to ignore when Washington moved in 2020 to block fellow NATO-member Turkey from acquiring advanced F-16 upgrades following Ankara’s purchase of Russia’s advanced S-400 missile air defense system. The decision exposed how even close allies remain vulnerable to Western export controls. Ankara responded by accelerating its indigenous drone program, producing low-cost, combat-proven platforms that would soon reshape battlefields from Ukraine and the Caucasus to the Middle East and Africa, a transformation catalyzed and accelerated by the war in Ukraine.

In parallel, Pakistan and China advanced the JF-17. The name of the affordable jet took a swipe at its Western competitors, with “JF” standing for “Joint Fighter” and the number 17 suggesting an upgrade over the F-16.

[Riaz Haq]

How Pakistan Is Busting The Great Power Monopoly On Air Power
The industry here is showing how emerging states are gaining leverage through the democratization ... of weapons


https://responsiblestatecraft.org/pakistan-air-force-fighter-jets/


China's willingness to transfer technology and co-produce advanced systems enabled Pakistan to field a modern multirole fighter capable of shooting down aircraft with beyond-visual-range missiles, delivering precision-guided munitions against ground targets and tracking multiple threats through its active electronically scanned array radar. Together, Turkish combat drones and the JF-17 have shattered the exclusivity of airpower, dismantling the financial and political barriers that long restricted credible aerial capability to a narrow circle of privileged states.

For Pakistan, this transformation has been both strategic and reputational. Co-developed with China and increasingly produced domestically, the JF-17 anchors Islamabad’s shift from arms importer to aerospace power broker. That evolution gained global visibility during the four-day conflict last May, when Pakistani aircraft allegedly downed the Indian Rafale aircraft purchased from the French firm Dassault.


That success generated international attention and drew rare public praise from U.S. President Donald Trump, sharply boosting interest in the aircraft. Since then, the JF-17’s export footprint has expanded across Nigeria, Myanmar, Azerbaijan, and Iraq, with interest growing across Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

By offering a capable, affordable alternative to Western and Russian fighters, Pakistan is reshaping procurement choices for mid-tier states. In doing so, it is no longer merely buying security but it is increasingly enabling it, positioning itself as a strategic node in a rapidly diversifying global defense ecosystem.

The consequences of this shift extend beyond arms markets, as smaller and mid-tier states acquire credible airpower for the first time and regional hierarchies flatten and deterrence relationships recalibrate. In volatile regions from South Asia to the Middle East and the Caucasus, this diffusion of airpower is fundamentally altering how influence, coercion, and stability are negotiated.

“For mid-tier powers, the war in Ukraine showed that without effective airpower, maneuver alone cannot deliver decisive battlefield outcomes. Instead, it drives conflicts toward attritional stalemate and forces a reassessment of force structure and operational concepts,” observes Lt Col Steen Kjaergaard from the Royal Danish Defence College, Denmark, who has closely followed the war in Ukraine to study the battlefields of tomorrow.

Back at NASTP in Rawalpindi, the objective is not merely to manufacture aircraft, but to cultivate human capital and technological depth underpinning long-term strategic autonomy. By embedding aerospace development within an entrepreneurial framework, Pakistan is laying the groundwork for enduring defense sovereignty, ensuring that its growing airpower is supported by indigenous skills, research capacity and industrial resilience rather than perpetual external dependence.

According to Air Marshal (Ret.) Aamir Masood, who served in the Pakistan Air Force for over 40 years, “Aerospace [is likely to] remain as a weapon of choice for future leadership.”

He says that the future “is all about non-contact warfare with beyond visual range precise ammunition, swarming drones and combat unmanned vehicles assisted by Artificial Intelligence based algorithms Decision support tools (DSTs). A country with better integration and networking would be able to have a faster OODA (Observe- Orientate- Decide- Act).”

The cumulative effect is a reshaping of the global balance of military power. Western dominance of defense markets is weakening as a new cohort of arms exporters led by Turkey, Pakistan and China is redefining access to advanced aerial capability.