Pakistan not to install Western weapons on home-grown JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, opts for Chinese missiles instead

Pakistan will buy Chinese missiles and flight systems to equip its 250 JF-17 Thunder jet fighters it has developed jointly with China. The aircraft was displayed for the first time internationally at the Farnborough air Show in 2010. Rao Qamar Suleman, air chief marshal of the Pakistan Air Force, told the media at the ongoing Zhuhai Air Show that Chinese radar systems and SD-10 mid-range homing missiles would be used on the fighters. He did not specify the number of missiles to be bought. The shopping list may include bombs and Electronic Warfare Systems too. “PAF has no plans to install Western devices and weapons on the aircraft for the time being,” the media quoted Suleman as saying in separate interviews. Pakistan may also buy up to four Chinese surface-to-air missiles, Suleman said. He made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual Zhuhai Air Show now under way in southern China. The move is seen as a counter to India forging closer relations with the U.S.A in terms of defense purchases. Pakistan has recently taken delivery of additional new generation F-16 aircraft which form the mainstay of its combat force.