CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder

The PAC JF-17 Thunder (Urdu: جے ایف-١٧ تھنڈر‎), or CAC FC-1 Xiaolong (Fierce Dragon; Chinese: 枭龙; pinyin: Xiāo Lóng), is a light-weight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Air Force, the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAC) of China. Its designation "JF-17 Thunder" by Pakistan is short for "Joint Fighter-17", while the designation "FC-1 Xiaolong" by China means "Fighter China-1 Fierce Dragon".
The JF-17 can carry a variety of missiles and bombs, including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, supplemented by a 23/30 mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel autocannon. It is powered by a RD-93 afterburning turbofan, and has a top speed of Mach 1.6. The JF-17 is slated to become the backbone of Pakistan Air Force (PAF), complementing the F-16s as well as the J-10Bs (on order) within its aircraft ranks and is also expected to fill the duties of aerial reconnaissance, ground-attack and interception.
Pakistan has already started induction, and has plans to induct around 250 units. The JF-17 will replace Pakistan's ageing fleet of A-5C, Mirage-III, Mirage-V, and F-7P/PG by 2015. The first squadron was inducted in the Pakistan Air Force in February 2010. In China it is in an evaluation phase (passed design appraisal).
==Variants==
*JF-17A Block 1: Single-seat variant. Production in China began in June 2006 and in Pakistan in 2007. The first three Chinese weapons to be integrated are the PL-5E II AAM, the SD-10 AAM, and the C-802A anti-shipping missile. Block 1 aircraft had performed "better than expected" according to PAF Air Commodore Junaid. Production of Block 1 was completed on December 18th when the fiftieth aircraft—58% of which was produced in Pakistan—was delivered. A Block 1 JF-17 costs approximately US$15 million per unit.
*JF-17A Block 2: Single-seat variant. Production began on December 18th 2013 and initial testing began on 9 February 9th 2015. Block 2 aircraft make use of composites in the airframe for reduced weight, air-to-air refuelling capability, improved radar and avionics, enhanced load carrying capacity, data link, and electronic warfare capabilities. Chairman of PAC, Air Marshal Javaid Ahmed said: "We will hand over 16 Block-II JF-17s to the PAF every year", and that the manufacturing plant has the capacity to produce 25 units in a year. According to local media, PAC rolled out the 16th Block 2 aircraft in December 2015 enabling the JF-17's 4th squadron formation. A Block 2 JF-17 costs approximately US$25 million per unit.
*JF-17B Block 2: Dual-seat variant of the JF-17A Block 2. First flight in Chengdu, China on April 27th, 2017. Serial production in China and Pakistan from 2018 to 2020. A total of twenty-six aircraft built - first four at Chengdu and remaining twenty-two at Kamra. Its multi-roles include use as a (i) JF-17 conversion trainer; (ii) Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT); (iii) ground-attack aircraft; and (iv) reconnaissance aircraft. Apart from the dual-seat, larger dorsal spine, and a more swept-back tail, another difference between the JF-17B and the JF-17A is that the JF-17B carries fuel in its vertical stabilizer, which the JF-17A does not. The JF-17B houses integral fuel tanks like the F-16. Each wing houses 550 Ib while the vertical tail houses 210 lb, which, together with the internal fuel load, totals 4,910 Ib of fuel. Together with the three external fuel drop-tanks, the aircraft can carry a total 10,000 Ib fuel load. The JF-17B Block 2s will be retrofitted with the NRIET/CETC KLJ-7A Air-cooled Airborne Fire-Control Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar (license-manufactured at the Avionics Production Factory (APF) at PAC, Kamra).
*JF-17A Block 3: Single-seat variant. First flight in Chengdu, China on December 15th, 2019. Two prototypes undergoing flight tests as of December 2020, one in China and the other in Pakistan. Went into serial production at PAC Kamra on December 30th, 2020. Projected to feature further advancements such as a NRIET/CETC KLJ-7A Air-cooled Airborne Fire-Control Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar (license-manufactured at the Avionics Production Factory (APF) at PAC, Kamra), a three-axis digital fly-by-wire flight control system, an infrared search and track (IRST) system, a helmet-mounted display and sight (HMD/S) system produced jointly by Pakistan and China, a missile approach warning system (MAWS) similar to the one used on the Chinese J-10C, J-16, and J-20, a new, larger, and thinner holographic wide-angle head-up display (HUD) similar to the one used on the J-10C and J-20, an enhanced electronic warfare management system, a chin-mounted hardpoint, use of more composites for further weight reduction, Klimov RD-93MA afterburning turbofan will be eventually replaced by Guizhou WS-13 with an increased thrust, and a better thrust-to-weight ratio. The KLJ-7A can simultaneously track fifteen targets and engage four targets. PAF officials have described the JF-17 Block 3 as a "fourth generation plus" fighter jet. The first PAC-produced JF-17 Block 3 aircraft are expected to roll out of the production line in late 2021. The PAF has placed an order for fifty JF-17 Block 3 aircraft, deliveries of which are expected to start from early 2022.
==Users==
*Azerbaijan
**Azerbaijani Air Force x 12
*Iraq
**Iraqi Air Force x 12
*Myanmar
**Myanmar Air Force x 16
*Nigeria
**Nigerian Air Force x 14
*Pakistan
**Pakistan Air Force x 138 delivered, 50 more on order
***PAF Base Minhas
****JF-17 TEF (Test and Evaluation Flight)
****No. 14 Squadron Tail Choppers
****No. 18 Squadron Sharp Shooters (JF-17 OCU)
***PAF Base Peshawar
****No. 16 Squadron Black Panthers
****No. 26 Squadron Black Spiders
***PAF Base Masroor
****No. 2 Squadron Minhasians
***PAF Base Mushaf
****CCS JF-17 Squadron Dragons
***PAF Base Minhas
****No. 14 Squadron Tail Choppers
***PAF Base Samungli
****No. 28 Squadron Phoenix
*Sri Lanka
**Sri Lankan Air Force x 24
*Sudan
**Sudanese Air Force x 12
*Venezuela
**Venezuelan Air Force
*Zimbabwe
**Zimbabwe Air Force x 12
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