‹ TORSALVO Codex
🇵🇰 JF-17 Thunder
Air · PAC (Pakistan Aeronautical Complex) + Chengdu (CAC, Çin) · 2007
A jointly built Chinese-Pakistani light fighter, cheap to buy and easy to maintain; the Block 3 version adds an AESA radar and the long-range PL-15E missile to strike beyond visual range.
Specifications
- Class: Single-engine light multirole fighter (4.5-gen, Block 3)
- Maker: China (Chengdu/CAC) + Pakistan (PAC) joint
- Engine: 1× Klimov RD-93/RD-93MA turbofan (~85 kN afterburning)
- Max speed: ~Mach 1.6 (≈1,910 km/h, high altitude)
- Combat radius: ~1,350 km (with external tanks); ferry ~2,037 km
- Radar: KLJ-7A AESA (Block 3), ~170 km detection
- Main AAM: PL-15E long-range BVR (~145 km export) + PL-10 short-range
- In service: 2007 (Pakistan Air Force)
Beats: Maliyet-etkinlik yarışında ağır/pahalı çok-rollü avcılar (HAL Tejas dahil) — yarı fiyatına BVR yeteneği, Düşük bütçeli hava kuvvetleri için filo derinliği (çok sayıda uçak)
Loses to: F-16 (daha olgun sensör füzyonu, EH paketi ve silah ekosistemi), Saab Gripen E (Meteor füzesi, daha iyi hayatta kalma ve menzil)
It spreads because it brings 'beyond-visual-range' (BVR) capability to low-budget air forces at the lowest price — but its survivability and sensor maturity trail the expensive NATO equivalents.
Related systems
Related systems (Air): KAAN, Bayraktar KIZILELMA, ANKA-3, Bayraktar TB2, Bayraktar Akıncı, Vyriy OPTO 10, Skydagger, AKBABA, GÖKTUĞ (Gökdoğan/Bozdoğan), SOM