The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said after analysing images of the JF-17 Thunder Block II taken during a rehearsal for the Pakistan Day Parade 2023 that the fighter jet is equipped with Ra’ad I nuclear missiles. “Notably, this is the first time such a configuration has been publicly observed,” FAS said in the report.
To ascertain whether it is the original version or the extended-range Ra’ad II, the American think tank conducted a comparison by examining both versions of the missile displayed at Pakistan Day Parades in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Both versions featured new engine air intakes, but the Ra’ad-II “was announced to have nearly double the range, although external features did not clearly confirm this,” the report said.
This version, Ra’ad-II, was unveiled during the Pakistan Day Parade in 2022. According to the think tank, the previous version of the missile had a ‘twin-tail’ configuration, whereas this one has an ‘X-shaped’ tail configuration.
This year, two types of Ra’ad, each with a different arrangement of tail fins, were showcased at the Pakistan Day Parade, the report said.
The JF-17 missile’s tail arrangement as seen in photographs reportedly appears to be closer to the Ra’ad-I’s “dual-tail” configuration, rather than the Ra’ad-II’s new “X-shaped” tail.
“It is possible that this missile is an older Ra’ad-II, given that the 2017 version also had a ‘twin-tail’ configuration, but that version of the Ra’ad-II appears outdated and is unlikely to have been used for flight testing,” the think tank suggested.
The JF-17, jointly developed by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, is expected to replace the air force’s aging Mirage III and V aircraft. Pakistan has procured more than 130 operational JF-17s, the report said.
(Edited by Tony Lai)
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