JF-17 Planned upgrades
JF-17 Planned upgrades
All PAF JF-17 jets will be modified
to aerial refueling capable.
Subsequent upgrades will be
made on PAF JF-17 jets
approximately every five years.
Planned additions include:
Greater use of COMPOSITE
materials in the airframe to
decrease weight.
Chinese Infra-Red Search and
Track (IRST) system, possibly the
Type Hongguang-I Electro-optical
radar originally developed for the
Chengdu J-10 fighter by Sichuan
Changhong Electric Appliance
Corporation. JF-17 is already
compatible with this system but
currently it must be carried
externally in a pod mounted on
one of the hardpoints.
New engine; most likely the
Chinese WS-13 TianShan, although
the PAF is considering fitting
European powerplants such as the
French Snecma M88 to its aircraft.
Minor airframe modifications to
reduce the aircraft's radar cross-
section by adding stealthy
features.
The first 50 JF-17 jets entering
Pakistan Air Force service will
most likely incorporate only
Chinese avionics and other
systems, beyond the initial 50 PAF
JF-17 jets the remaining
production aircraft may also be
equipped with European avionics,
radars and weaponry.
Pakistan had begun negotiations
with British and Italian defense
firms over potential avionics and
radars for JF-17 during initial
development. Some of the radar
options for JF-17 are the Italian
Galileo Avionica Grifo S7 and the
French Thomson-CSF RC400 (a
variant of the RDY-2), along with
the MBDA MICA IR/RF short/
medium range air-to-air missiles.
JF-17 production in 2010 was
planned at 24 planes, while from
2011 it is planned to be at 30
planes per year at Pakistan
Aeronautical Complex.
Pakistan Air force will get total
275 JF-17 jets, According to Air
Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood
Ahmad of the PAF, the first JF-17
squadron will be inducted into the
PAF fleet in the first quarter of
2009.
Source: Wikipidia and Defense
websites.