On June 5, 2024, a JF-17 Thunder Block II fighter jet crashed in the Jang area. The crash occurred in Pakistan’s Punjab province and there was much talk about the crash on social media, with multiple videos circulating online, but there was no official confirmation from Islamabad.
Pakistani JF-17 Thunder crashes in Jhang area after Russian engine fails, video released of pilot ejected
While Pakistan’s mainstream media and the Air Force remained tight-lipped about the incident, confirmation came from an unexpected source: on June 11, Martin Baker, the manufacturer of the ejection seats, appeared on X to confirm the news.
“On Wednesday, June 5th, a Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Block 2 aircraft crashed near the Jhang area. The pilot ejected safely using a Martin Baker PK16LE seat,” the Martin Baker post read.
The JF-17 fighter jet is a single-engine light multirole fighter jet jointly developed by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Corporation. The jet, the workhorse of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), is 58 percent Pakistani and 42 percent Chinese manufactured.
The JF-17 was conceived as a successor to the Pakistan Air Force’s French and Chinese third-generation fighter jets, namely the A-5C, F-7P/PG, Mirage III and Mirage V. Currently, the Pakistan Air Force operates around 150 JF-17s, but most of them are grounded, according to a report published by Sputnik India.
According to data released by the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network, this is 5Number The Sino-Pakistani joint venture fighter jet has had one confirmed crash in its 13 years of operation, while the Indian version of the JF-17, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, has only had one crash in its nearly eight years in service.
JF-17 Thunder reported issues
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Engine maintenance issues
The use of Chinese-made RD-93 engines on the JF-17s has caused serious operational headaches for the Pakistan Air Force, with 40 JF-17 Block 1 and 2 fighters grounded and classified as unflyable, according to an article published in SP’s Aviation in 2023.
A significant number of the engines had cracks in their guide vanes, exhaust nozzles and flame stabilizers, and even the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) deemed them defective in some respects and did not introduce them into its fleet, as previously reported by the Eurasian Times.
In 2021, Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd.) spoke about the inferior JF-17 engines and said that the Indian LCA Tejas has a much more reliable engine than the Pakistani one. Therefore, the Pakistan Air Force and China Aerospace Science and Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) want to replace them with Chinese-made RD-93 engines procured directly from Moscow. However, this switch is easier said than done.
The JF-17 Thunder uses RD-93 engines, officially manufactured by Russian engine manufacturer Klimov. After a certain number of flight hours, the aircraft’s engines must be regularly replaced by the OEM (original equipment manufacturer).
However, since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, this maintenance work has become extremely cumbersome due to severe economic sanctions imposed by Western countries on the original equipment supplier, JSC Rosoboronetxot, which since 2018 has been the only state-owned company in Russia involved in the import and export of all military equipment, technology, dual-purpose products and services.
Naturally, any military cooperation between Islamabad and Moscow is highly undesirable for Pakistan, which is already suffering from an economic crisis due to growing fears of US sanctions.
Sanctions mean Rosoboronexport can’t do business in U.S. dollars, which means sending and receiving payments becomes more complicated for banks and both governments, and the sharp depreciation of the currency means higher maintenance costs for the Pakistani Air Force.
2. Other technical issues and shortcomings
According to IAF Group Captain DK Pandey’s analysis, the JF-17 is unreliable for air defence missions. Its indigenously developed Link-17 data link does not have sufficient data transfer speed. The fighter jet cannot be integrated with Pakistan’s F-16 Link-16, limiting its interoperability.
Moreover, the jet does not have an effective Beyond Visual Range (BVR) or airborne intercept radar.The poor performance of the JF-17 during Operation Swift Retort on February 27, 2019, when it was effectively jammed by Indian pilots, has also cast serious doubts on the precision strike capabilities of the JF-17.All the Pakistan Air Force’s Extended Range Kit (REK) bombs failed to hit any high-value targets.
Thus, the JF-17 has significant flaws, including low endurance, low accuracy, unreliable airborne intercept radar, low payload capacity, maintenance problems, unreliability of the aircraft’s main computer, and frequent failures of many modules.
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3. Poor performance
Pakistan has found numerous customers for the JF-17, exporting it to countries such as Nigeria and Myanmar, and has also reportedly secured deals with Azerbaijan and Iraq.
According to a statement from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), “The JF-17 was built to meet the requirements of international customers and the global market. This statement makes it clear that these fighters were not intended for the domestic market, but for countries that required a low-cost, versatile, light, single-engine fighter. They were never intended to be the most advanced fighter, but rather the cheapest option available in the field.”
Myanmar, the first country after Pakistan to purchase the JF-17, was forced to ground the aircraft after it suffered technical malfunctions, The Irrawaddy Times reported. Analysts and former Myanmar Air Force pilots told the news outlet that the planes had “structural cracks and other technical issues.” They added that “the aircraft, which are supposed to be capable of interception, ground attack and bombing missions, proved unfit for operation and the Myanmar military lacks the technical expertise to resolve the issue.”
They further lamented that a key part of the JF-17’s avionics is the Chinese-made KLJ-7 AI radar, which has low accuracy and maintenance problems. The aircraft lacks lethal BVR missiles and airborne intercept radar. Moreover, a failure in the weapons mission control computer reduced the launch zone of the BVR air-to-air missiles during combat exercises. “Moreover, when the aircraft encounters strong G-forces, it is vulnerable to damage, especially the wingtips and hardpoints,” according to a former Myanmar Air Force pilot.
Myanmar signed a contract with China in 2016 to purchase 16 JF-17s, at an estimated price of $25 million each. The first six were delivered in 2018, but the status of the remaining 10 is unclear. The first four were inducted into the Myanmar Air Force in December 2018, and the remaining two in December 2019. However, almost five and a half years after the first batch entered service, Myanmar’s JF-17s are still grounded.
Nigeria became the second customer for the Sino-Pakistani aircraft in 2016, ordering three aircraft. Since entering service with the Nigerian Air Force in 2021, the aircraft have been deployed primarily in counter-terrorism and insurgency operations against Boko Haram and Islamic State affiliates in northeastern Nigeria.
Anticipation for the new order was high, but the Nigerian Air Force has signed a contract with Italy’s Leonardo for the purchase of 24 M-346FA aircraft, which will arrive in four batches, the first of which is due to arrive at the end of this year.
Originally twin-seater jet trainers, the planes have been modified for combat missions and come with a 25-year logistics support package to enhance operational effectiveness and longevity. Unlike the JF-17 disaster in Myanmar, these planes have proven themselves in Italy, Israel, Qatar, Poland and Singapore.
Advantages of JF-17 Thunder
However, despite all the criticism of the fighter jet, the Pakistan Air Force seems quite confident in its operational capabilities, with the latest JF-17 Block 3 version making its debut at the Dubai Air Show in November 2023.
The PAF released a statement praising the fighter, which read, “The JF-17 Thunder Block 3 fighter jet represents the pinnacle of modern air combat technology. Equipped with state-of-the-art avionics, enhanced weapons and advanced electronic warfare systems, the JF-17 Block 3 boasts superior maneuverability, long range and enhanced combat capability. Its participation in the Dubai Air Show demonstrates the confidence of Pakistan Air Force in this indigenous marvel and underlines Pakistan’s commitment to promoting self-reliance in the defence industry.”
The JF-17 Block 3 has been described by PAF officials as “fourth generation plus.” This latest version of the fighter jet was inducted into the PAF in November 2023. As previously reported by Eurasian Times, the variant will have “superior maneuverability, longer range and enhanced combat capabilities.”
Additionally, greater use of composites and improved avionics have reduced the aircraft’s radar cross section, making it more stealthy. This version will be equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.
The radar system in question is the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology’s (NRIET) KLJ-7A X-band airborne 3D Fire Control Radar (FCR). The predecessor to the Block 2 variant, the KLJ-7 V2 radar, is capable of detecting any aircraft with a radar cross section of three metres at a range of up to 150km.
The latest version is said to have improved multi-target capability, greater resistance to jamming, easier maintenance, and longer range. By the end of 2024 or 2025, Pakistan is expected to have 50 of these superior Block 3 aircraft, posing a major threat.
Furthermore, in 2021, China’s state-run daily Global Times reported that the JF-17 fighter jet will be paired with China’s most advanced air-to-air combat missile, the PL-10, which is used in China’s fifth air-to-air missile system.Number The next-generation J-20 fighter jet.
“The introduction of the PL-10 will give the JF-17 Block 3 incredible dogfighting capabilities, giving it an advantage against more powerful enemy aircraft in the country’s air defences,” the Global Times reported, citing an unnamed military expert in Beijing.
Abhijit Iyer Mitra, a senior fellow at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies in New Delhi and a senior Indian defense analyst, has praised the JF-17 on various occasions. He said on the popular YouTube channel, The Jaipur Dialogues, that even the JF-17 Block 1 is superior to the Tejas MK 3.
Furthermore, another popular YouTube channel, Abhinav Prakash, believes that the low cost of the JF-17 will enable the Pakistan Air Force to inflict large numbers of them on the battlefield and eventually be able to shoot down even the far superior Indian Rafale fighter jets, adding that this is only possible through relying on the quality vs quantity paradigm.
In a previous conversation with the Eurasian Times, Mitra touted the JF-17’s strengths, saying it fits into China’s supply chain and has a range of proven and verifiable weapons. He added that all the upgrades the aircraft has undergone are “solid and proven.”
- Compiled by Eurasia Times Desk
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