JF-17 Thunder Aircraft Armament: PART 3

Description

With the ever increasing costs for the development and purchase of advance sophisticated combat aircraft, many nations have tried to undertake cost effective measures for their defence needs. Countries can either purchase very expensive modern aircraft or buy older aircraft that can be expensive to operate due to their high maintenance requirements. Countries that have been cash strapped in regards to buying advanced aircraft have taken different measures. Pakistan has faced a number of issues and is in great need of replacing its older aircraft, especially when its neighbours are purchasing state of the art combat aircrafts. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had initiated the plan to co-develop an affordable modern fighter aircraft with China (CAC). Pakistan Air Force may be the only air force in the world which is indigenously producing the fighter jet. The Chengdu Aircraft Industry (CAC) of China and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) of Pakistan had started to work on this new combat aircraft. The JF-17 Thunder/FC-1 Xialong (Fierce dragon) is single engine, lightweight, multirole combat aircraft that had completed its maiden flight by August 2003 and had entered service in march 2007. This very modern and capable aircraft has the potential to become a platform that can serve with numerous countries across the world. PART 3