At the 53rd Paris International Air Show held on June 17th, JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter jointly developed by China and Pakistan was unveiled for the eighth time at the air show. At the same time, JF-17 two-seater trainer version also appeared for the first time.
From the first flight in 2003, the first time to participate in the Paris Air Show in 2005, to date, what progress has been made in the research and development of JF-17 fighter? Military expert Liang Yongchun believes that JF-17 Thunder fighter has been upgraded in aerodynamic shape, airborne weapon system and radar system in recent years, and its technical performance has been greatly improved.
The so-called two-seat type, according to the information provided by the exhibitor, refers to the trainer model of JF-17 fighter. Based on internationally accepted practices, the development of the same fighter from single seat to double seats, on the one hand, is derived from the needs of the trainer, and on the other hand, is a sign of the improvement of aircraft performance. As there are more electronic devices on the plane, the operation is more complicated, and one person is too busy to handle them, so it is necessary to change from single seat to double-seat.
Different from other fighters in China, JF-17 fighter has been an international cooperation project from the beginning and is a pure foreign trade weaponry. Its original idea was to upgrade the technology based on the J-7 fighter, so many experts believed that JF-17 Thunder fighter couldn’t reach the level of the third-generation fighter because it had a lower starting point.
However, after continuous deep transformation, the current JF-17 fighter has no shape of J-7. It has a brand-new engine, a new aerodynamic shape design, and a new airborne weapon system.
Especially at last year’s Zhuhai Air Show, people saw that the latest JF-17 fighters were equipped with Active Phased Array Radar (APAR), which makes its battlefield perception ability exceed traditional third-generation fighters, reaching the level of three-and-a-half generation.
According to Military expert Liang Yongchun, as an inexpensive fighter, JF-17 Thunder fighter will have a good market prospect in the third world countries in the future.
It’s the eighth time for JF-17 to participate in the Paris Air Show this year. This is obviously to open the international market, especially markets of developing countries.
It’s estimated that air forces of these countries have about 3,000 to 5,000 second-generation fighters, such as the MiG-21 and the US-made F-4, which have reached the age of retirement and need to be replaced.
However, the purchasing power of these countries is limited. For them, JF-17 fighter is an economically applicable product. Its performance is enough, and the price is only about 35 million US dollars, less than half of F-16 fighter, and is indeed affordable. If passes any actual tests, JF-17 fighter will definitely receive more attention.
“The international military aircraft market is very large. National conditions of different countries are different, and the demands are also different. For example, the high-end Rolls-Royce is certainly good, but the Volkswagen car for civilians can also be very popular, so in the long run, the international market prospects of JF-17 fighters are very optimistic,” said Liang.
Liang Yongchun believes that JF-17 Thunder fighter is a successful example of China’s aviation industry to strengthen international cooperation and open up the international market.