Pakistan announces new sale agreement for its JF-17 fighter jet during Dubai Airshow 2025
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Pakistan reports that a friendly country signed an MoU at the Dubai Airshow 2025 to acquire the JF-17 Thunder, following a formal presentation of the Block III configuration at this event.
On November 20, 2025, the Pakistan Air Force announced that an unspecified friendly country had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet. The arrangement was signed on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow 2025 at Al Maktoum International Airport, for which Pakistan sent a contingent that included the latest JF-17 Thunder Block III and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft. Pakistani officials stated that the Block III configuration became a central attraction for military and civilian visitors, with several delegations expressing interest in the aircraft’s capabilities and combat record.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The JF-17 Thunder was developed to give the Pakistan Air Force an affordable multirole fighter that would not be vulnerable to external sanctions, while also replacing ageing A-5C bombers, F-7P/PG interceptors, and Mirage III/5 fighters. (Picture source: Pakistan Air Force)
The JF-17 Thunder was developed jointly by the Chinese Chengdu Aircraft Corporation and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex to provide a relatively low-cost, unsanctionable multirole fighter to replace ageing A-5C, F-7P/PG, Mirage III, and Mirage 5 fleets, and which gradually became the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force. Its development could be traced back to the Super 7 and FC-1 projects in the 1990s, then the first prototype flew in 2003, and the first production aircraft arrived in Pakistan in 2007. The JF-17 entered operational service in 2010 with No. 26 Squadron and has since equipped multiple units that now form a large share of Pakistan’s fighter order of battle. Around 58 percent of the airframe, including the front fuselage, wings, and vertical stabiliser, is produced in Pakistan and 42 percent in China, with final assembly carried out at Kamra, which has progressively increased its annual output to meet export demands.
Early production centered on the JF-17A Block 1, which provided the baseline configuration and was reported to have a unit cost of about $15 million, followed by the Block 2 in late 2013 with important structural and systems changes. The Block 2 introduced the increased use of composite materials, air-to-air refuelling provisions, improved avionics, enhanced load-carrying capacity, an upgraded data link, and strengthened electronic warfare capabilities, which raised the unit price closer to $25 million but also expanded mission flexibility. A dual-seat variant, the JF-17B, was then developed, first flying in 2017 and entering production in both China and Pakistan between 2018 and 2020, with a larger dorsal spine and fuel tanks extending into the vertical tail and wings. This version serves as a conversion and lead-in fighter trainer and retains its full combat capability, allowing Pakistan and export users to train pilots while maintaining a usable strike platform. By the time Block II and JF-17B deliveries stabilised, Pakistan had accumulated tens of thousands of operational flight hours on the type and had begun to move toward a more advanced variant.
The JF-17 Block III, also known as JF-17C, now represents the most substantial step in the JF-17 Thunder’s evolution; externally, it retains the same overall layout, with a length of about 14.3 meters, a wingspan of 9.44 meters and a cropped delta mid-wing with leading edge root extensions, but incorporates more composites and an additional chin hardpoint for pods or weapons. The airframe is now designed for a service life of around 4,000 flight hours or 25 years, with the first overhaul at about 1,200 hours. The engine found in the Block III is the Russian Klimov RD-93MA afterburning turbofan, an improved version of the RD-93, which produces roughly 91.2 kilonewtons of thrust and is managed by a full authority digital engine control. With this engine, the Block III variant reaches a maximum speed near Mach 1.8, a service ceiling of around 16,900 meters, a combat range of around 900 kilometers on internal fuel, and a ferry range exceeding 3,400 kilometers with drop tanks. Maximum take-off weight is now listed at approximately 13,500 kilograms, and the aircraft can carry up to around 3,400 kilograms of external stores on eight hardpoints while retaining an internal 23 mm GSh-23 twin-barreled cannon.
Inside the cockpit, the JF-17 uses an electronic flight instrument system built around three colour multifunction displays arranged in portrait orientation and a wide-angle holographic heads-up display, combined with hands-on throttle and stick controls and a Martin Baker PK16LE ejection seat. Software uses an open architecture approach written in C++, which Pakistan presents as a way to integrate new sensors, weapons, and displays from various suppliers over time. Early blocks are equipped with the KLJ-7 multimode radar, derived from equipment used on the Chinese J-10, while the Block III introduces the KLJ-7A active electronically scanned array radar, which is said to be able to track about 15 targets and engage four simultaneously, improving detection, tracking, and resistance to jamming compared to earlier sets. Defensive systems include a radar warning receiver, an electronic warfare suite in the fin tip, a missile approach warning system using optical sensors distributed around the airframe, and a countermeasures dispenser for chaff and flares, with compatibility for external jamming pods. Pakistan has also worked with Chinese partners on a helmet-mounted sight and display and is moving toward an indigenous helmet system and passive infrared search and track for future upgrades under the PFX Alpha program, sometimes referred to as a future Block 4.
The weapons and mission systems fitted to the JF-17 are configured to allow a broad range of tasks, including air superiority, interdiction, close air support, maritime strike, suppression of enemy air defences, and reconnaissance. For short-range air combat, the JF-17 can carry PL-5E and PL-9C infrared guided missiles and, on later blocks, the PL-10E high off-boresight missile controlled via the helmet-mounted sight. For beyond visual range engagements, the JF-17 uses Chinese SD-10 or PL-12 active radar homing missiles and, on Block III, the PL-15E missile with a range of around 145 kilometers, giving it a much longer engagement envelope. Air-to-surface weapons include unguided bombs and rockets, laser-guided bombs and satellite-guided munitions carried on single or multiple ejector racks, as well as the C-802AK anti-ship missile and MAR-1 anti-radiation missile. Pakistan also advertises integration of the CM-400AKG supersonic air-to-surface missile for use against ships or high-value ground targets. For precision employment of these weapons, Pakistan has integrated targeting pods such as the Turkish Aselsan ASELPOD and uses a tactical data link that allows aircraft without pods to receive targeting data from those that carry them.
Within Pakistan, the fighter jet has conducted airstrikes against militant positions in North Waziristan and other border regions since 2014, using both guided and unguided munitions. It has been used in operations near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, including strikes in 2014 and 2017, and in 2017, a JF-17 shot down an Iranian drone near the Pakistan-Iran border in Balochistan. During the 2019 confrontation with India, JF-17s took part in Pakistan’s retaliatory air operation widely referred to as Operation Swift Retort, carrying out strikes across the Line of Control from Pakistani airspace. In January 2024, Pakistan used the jet during strikes on armed groups linked to the Baloch separatist movement inside Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province and also in cross-border operations against Pakistani Taliban positions inside Afghanistan later that year. In the May 2025 conflict with India, Pakistan states that JF-17s and J-10CEs were used in air-to-air and air-to-ground roles and that JF-17s equipped with CM-400AKG missiles destroyed components of an Indian S-400 air defense system at Adampur by targeting the 96L6E radar, while India rejects this claim and asserts that all S-400 squadrons remain operational.
Exports form the other major pillar of the JF-17 program; Myanmar ordered 16 JF-17 Block 2s around 2015, Nigeria ordered three JF-17A Block 2s that were delivered in 2021 and formally inducted in May that year, with the possibility of additional orders if performance and support remain satisfactory. Azerbaijan signed an agreement in February 2024 valued at about $1.6 billion for the JF-17 Block III, and this was followed by a June 2025 announcement of a broader package for 40 units worth roughly $4.6 billion, making Azerbaijan the largest foreign customer so far. Iraq has moved from interest since 2023 to a reported agreement that combines further Mushshak trainers with 12 JF-17 Block III fighters in a package estimated at around $1.8 billion, while Bangladesh publicly signalled interest in the Block III in January 2025. Other states, including several in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, have at various times examined the JF-17, although many of those discussions have not yet resulted in firm contracts.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
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Pakistan reports that a friendly country signed an MoU at the Dubai Airshow 2025 to acquire the JF-17 Thunder, following a formal presentation of the Block III configuration at this event.
On November 20, 2025, the Pakistan Air Force announced that an unspecified friendly country had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet. The arrangement was signed on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow 2025 at Al Maktoum International Airport, for which Pakistan sent a contingent that included the latest JF-17 Thunder Block III and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft. Pakistani officials stated that the Block III configuration became a central attraction for military and civilian visitors, with several delegations expressing interest in the aircraft’s capabilities and combat record.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The JF-17 Thunder was developed to give the Pakistan Air Force an affordable multirole fighter that would not be vulnerable to external sanctions, while also replacing ageing A-5C bombers, F-7P/PG interceptors, and Mirage III/5 fighters. (Picture source: Pakistan Air Force)
The JF-17 Thunder was developed jointly by the Chinese Chengdu Aircraft Corporation and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex to provide a relatively low-cost, unsanctionable multirole fighter to replace ageing A-5C, F-7P/PG, Mirage III, and Mirage 5 fleets, and which gradually became the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force. Its development could be traced back to the Super 7 and FC-1 projects in the 1990s, then the first prototype flew in 2003, and the first production aircraft arrived in Pakistan in 2007. The JF-17 entered operational service in 2010 with No. 26 Squadron and has since equipped multiple units that now form a large share of Pakistan’s fighter order of battle. Around 58 percent of the airframe, including the front fuselage, wings, and vertical stabiliser, is produced in Pakistan and 42 percent in China, with final assembly carried out at Kamra, which has progressively increased its annual output to meet export demands.
Early production centered on the JF-17A Block 1, which provided the baseline configuration and was reported to have a unit cost of about $15 million, followed by the Block 2 in late 2013 with important structural and systems changes. The Block 2 introduced the increased use of composite materials, air-to-air refuelling provisions, improved avionics, enhanced load-carrying capacity, an upgraded data link, and strengthened electronic warfare capabilities, which raised the unit price closer to $25 million but also expanded mission flexibility. A dual-seat variant, the JF-17B, was then developed, first flying in 2017 and entering production in both China and Pakistan between 2018 and 2020, with a larger dorsal spine and fuel tanks extending into the vertical tail and wings. This version serves as a conversion and lead-in fighter trainer and retains its full combat capability, allowing Pakistan and export users to train pilots while maintaining a usable strike platform. By the time Block II and JF-17B deliveries stabilised, Pakistan had accumulated tens of thousands of operational flight hours on the type and had begun to move toward a more advanced variant.
The JF-17 Block III, also known as JF-17C, now represents the most substantial step in the JF-17 Thunder’s evolution; externally, it retains the same overall layout, with a length of about 14.3 meters, a wingspan of 9.44 meters and a cropped delta mid-wing with leading edge root extensions, but incorporates more composites and an additional chin hardpoint for pods or weapons. The airframe is now designed for a service life of around 4,000 flight hours or 25 years, with the first overhaul at about 1,200 hours. The engine found in the Block III is the Russian Klimov RD-93MA afterburning turbofan, an improved version of the RD-93, which produces roughly 91.2 kilonewtons of thrust and is managed by a full authority digital engine control. With this engine, the Block III variant reaches a maximum speed near Mach 1.8, a service ceiling of around 16,900 meters, a combat range of around 900 kilometers on internal fuel, and a ferry range exceeding 3,400 kilometers with drop tanks. Maximum take-off weight is now listed at approximately 13,500 kilograms, and the aircraft can carry up to around 3,400 kilograms of external stores on eight hardpoints while retaining an internal 23 mm GSh-23 twin-barreled cannon.
Inside the cockpit, the JF-17 uses an electronic flight instrument system built around three colour multifunction displays arranged in portrait orientation and a wide-angle holographic heads-up display, combined with hands-on throttle and stick controls and a Martin Baker PK16LE ejection seat. Software uses an open architecture approach written in C++, which Pakistan presents as a way to integrate new sensors, weapons, and displays from various suppliers over time. Early blocks are equipped with the KLJ-7 multimode radar, derived from equipment used on the Chinese J-10, while the Block III introduces the KLJ-7A active electronically scanned array radar, which is said to be able to track about 15 targets and engage four simultaneously, improving detection, tracking, and resistance to jamming compared to earlier sets. Defensive systems include a radar warning receiver, an electronic warfare suite in the fin tip, a missile approach warning system using optical sensors distributed around the airframe, and a countermeasures dispenser for chaff and flares, with compatibility for external jamming pods. Pakistan has also worked with Chinese partners on a helmet-mounted sight and display and is moving toward an indigenous helmet system and passive infrared search and track for future upgrades under the PFX Alpha program, sometimes referred to as a future Block 4.
The weapons and mission systems fitted to the JF-17 are configured to allow a broad range of tasks, including air superiority, interdiction, close air support, maritime strike, suppression of enemy air defences, and reconnaissance. For short-range air combat, the JF-17 can carry PL-5E and PL-9C infrared guided missiles and, on later blocks, the PL-10E high off-boresight missile controlled via the helmet-mounted sight. For beyond visual range engagements, the JF-17 uses Chinese SD-10 or PL-12 active radar homing missiles and, on Block III, the PL-15E missile with a range of around 145 kilometers, giving it a much longer engagement envelope. Air-to-surface weapons include unguided bombs and rockets, laser-guided bombs and satellite-guided munitions carried on single or multiple ejector racks, as well as the C-802AK anti-ship missile and MAR-1 anti-radiation missile. Pakistan also advertises integration of the CM-400AKG supersonic air-to-surface missile for use against ships or high-value ground targets. For precision employment of these weapons, Pakistan has integrated targeting pods such as the Turkish Aselsan ASELPOD and uses a tactical data link that allows aircraft without pods to receive targeting data from those that carry them.
Within Pakistan, the fighter jet has conducted airstrikes against militant positions in North Waziristan and other border regions since 2014, using both guided and unguided munitions. It has been used in operations near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, including strikes in 2014 and 2017, and in 2017, a JF-17 shot down an Iranian drone near the Pakistan-Iran border in Balochistan. During the 2019 confrontation with India, JF-17s took part in Pakistan’s retaliatory air operation widely referred to as Operation Swift Retort, carrying out strikes across the Line of Control from Pakistani airspace. In January 2024, Pakistan used the jet during strikes on armed groups linked to the Baloch separatist movement inside Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province and also in cross-border operations against Pakistani Taliban positions inside Afghanistan later that year. In the May 2025 conflict with India, Pakistan states that JF-17s and J-10CEs were used in air-to-air and air-to-ground roles and that JF-17s equipped with CM-400AKG missiles destroyed components of an Indian S-400 air defense system at Adampur by targeting the 96L6E radar, while India rejects this claim and asserts that all S-400 squadrons remain operational.
Exports form the other major pillar of the JF-17 program; Myanmar ordered 16 JF-17 Block 2s around 2015, Nigeria ordered three JF-17A Block 2s that were delivered in 2021 and formally inducted in May that year, with the possibility of additional orders if performance and support remain satisfactory. Azerbaijan signed an agreement in February 2024 valued at about $1.6 billion for the JF-17 Block III, and this was followed by a June 2025 announcement of a broader package for 40 units worth roughly $4.6 billion, making Azerbaijan the largest foreign customer so far. Iraq has moved from interest since 2023 to a reported agreement that combines further Mushshak trainers with 12 JF-17 Block III fighters in a package estimated at around $1.8 billion, while Bangladesh publicly signalled interest in the Block III in January 2025. Other states, including several in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, have at various times examined the JF-17, although many of those discussions have not yet resulted in firm contracts.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
