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Beijing [China]18 Dec (ANI): The Chinese-developed jet JF-17 has become an embarrassment for Pakistan due to multiple failures of Russian RD-93 engines, but despite this, many countries are still showing interest in the jet , Difesa Online reports.
Recently, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka and Malaysia have expressed interest in purchasing JF-17 fighter jets.
After several attempts to repair the Russian RD-93 engine at the Nanjing Institute of Electronic Technology in China, it was still beyond repair.
According to the agreement signed between Beijing and Islamabad on the JF-17, Pakistan can only get engines and components from Russia through the mediation of China. According to Difesa Online, due to multiple failures of Chinese fighter jets, Pakistan applied directly to Moscow to buy new RD-93 engines, avoiding Chinese intermediaries.
Read also | Sri Lanka uses Indian rupee trade settlement mechanism: report.
Russia also wants to provide RD-93 engines, as well as spare parts and repair services, but US sanctions on Russia’s defense export agency Rosoboronexport have created further complications for the Pakistan Air Force.
For decades, China’s growth as a major exporter of fighter jets seemed unstoppable.
Although China exported just $7.2 billion worth of military aircraft between 2000 and 2020, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s arms transfer database, Chinese fighter jets are still being sold in their relatively small target market.
In the 1990s, the main customers of Chinese fighter jets were Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, North Korea and some African countries. The same is true today, reports Difesa Online.
Earlier, Taiwan News reported in January that Pakistani leaders expected a low-cost, lightweight, all-weather multirole fighter similar to Russia’s Su-30MKI or France’s Mirage 2000, but the reality was far from their high hopes Far.
When Beijing and Islamabad signed an agreement to jointly produce the JF-17 in 1999, it was touted as a fighter comparable to the Su-30 MKI, Mig-29 and Mirage-2000. According to the Daily Sun, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is finding out the truth to its chagrin, but it is far from the Chinese boasting.
In recent days, the first images of Pakistan’s new mass-produced JF-17 Thunder (Block III) have surfaced. The new version promises to shed the bulky earlier JF-17 models, but the extent of its upgrades remains questionable. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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