Jang today:
Induction of JF-17 in PAF by mid-2006

By Muhammad Anis

ISLAMABAD: The first batch of eight JF-17 (Thunder) aircraft jointly manufactured by Pakistan and China will be inducted into the Pakistan Air Force by mid-2006.

“The JF-17 aircraft is superior to the existing fleet of F-16 aircraft now with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) as far its overall potential and capability is concerned,” Project Director of JF-17 Air Vice-Marshal Shahid Lateef said while briefing newsmen here on Friday.

[So it superior to F16 block 15- Does that mean only BVR or agility cause F16A was one of the most agile F16’s]

He said that the JF-17 would be equipped with state-of-the-art avionics and modern weapon like BVR missile system making it better than those possessed by Pakistan’s adversary.

[There is only one adversary… India. And better then what… The LCA. Cause I doubt they want to compare it with MKI]

“We are in dire need of enhancing combat capability of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF),” he said. AVM Shahid said that Pakistan would not only manufacture the aircraft locally but also export it. “We will gradually acquire self-sufficiency in manufacturing JF-17 aircraft in Pakistan,” he said.

[That was the reason behind the speed and not getting anything else like French]

He said that by mid-2006 Pakistan would manufacture 16 aircraft, out of which eight would be for China Air Force. He said the second prototype of JF-17 Thunder aircraft flew its successful maiden flight at Chengdu, in China on April 9. “This is the third prototype JF-17 aircraft to be manufactured as the second aircraft was manufactured only for ground tests, therefore, presently only two aircraft are flying,” he said.

[Pakistan would manufacture 16…? And give 8 to China airforce?]

He informed newsmen about the significance of April 9 when Pakistani pilots handled the flight and entered the supersonic regime.

[That is indeed very fast for non US planes…]

The first prototype JF-17 aircraft, which had flown its maiden flight in September last year, is already passing through an extensive flight-testing phase. The PAF official informed that flight of the second prototype was a milestone in the progress of the project as it was manufactured and flown right on time. He said Pakistan has requested China to prepare an avionics package for Pakistan according to its requirements. “The avionics package which also includes radar system would be state-of-the-art and meet our requirements,” he added. Shahid Lateef said the next prototype to be flown coming year would also consist of avionics and weapons system and it would be tested as a full combat aircraft.

[So they have decided about the package? And the next will be inclusive weapons…]]

He said the flight-test programme of JF-17 aircraft is moving ahead smoothly. “Following fifty percent production of the aircraft in Pakistan, we will gradually move towards 100 percent self-reliance through transfer of technology from China” he said.

Bablefishy?:D

Janes:

JSF security technology costing up to US$1bn

By Bill Sweetman

Up to US$1 billion of the projected cost overrun on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is attributable to the development of ‘anti-tamper’ (AT) technology to protect stealth features on the JSF, together with a ‘sanitized’ and probably less stealthy export configuration of the fighter.

Some of this overrun is reflected in a supplemental contract awarded to Lockheed Martin in November 2003, valued at US$603 million and covering the development of an “international partner version” for the JSF.

Building export JSFs with less sensitive – and less effective – low observable (LO) features is practicable because the primary structure of the JSF is conventional, with most of the LO systems being added at the end of the assembly line. The program office has consistently declined to clarify US policy on this issue, and people close to the program have made conflicting statements.

Most recently, however, a JSF program official said that the export versions “would look the same” – implying that materials under the surface might be different. Another source says that “all JSFs will have stealth features” but will not confirm that all of them will be identical in LO performance. The November contract’s reference to an “international partner version” also suggests that such an approach is being taken. The value of the contract would reflect the need to conduct a separate radar cross-section (RCS) validation program.

The clear implication is that the ‘international’ JSF would have a larger RCS than the US version, would be easier to detect by hostile radars and would consequently be more susceptible to attack. That, in turn, would have consequences for the overall effectiveness of the fighter. Like other LO aircraft, it does not carry active jamming equipment or a towed decoy, and it cannot use high-off-boresight air-to-air missiles when in stealth mode.

JSF is the first US stealth aircraft to be offered for export. Rules on the export of stealth technologies, as well as of dual-use technologies that are important to stealth, are not made by the JSF program office, but by senior Pentagon leaders, who define disclosure policy with the help of the Low Observables Executive Committee (LO-EXCOM). The EXCOM includes representatives from the services, intelligence agencies and all major stealth programs, including ‘black’ or unacknowledged programs.

The use of less sensitive materials on export JSFs is likely to be accompanied by a range of new AT measures, an area that has received increasing attention since 11 September 2001. The objective is “to protect critical technologies in US weapon systems that may be sold to foreign governments or that could possibly fall into enemy hands”.

436 of 1,338 words

Link : Jang newspaper…

PAF to receive JF-17 thunder by mid 2006
(Updated at 2140 PST)
ISLAMABAD: Project Director Joint Fighter-17 Thunder, Air Vice Marshal Shahid Latif, said in his press briefing at Air Head Quarter that first consignment of Joint Fighter-17 “Thunder”, produced jointly by Pakistan and China will be handed over to Pakistan Air Force by Mid January 2006.
He said: “Out of 16 JF-17 fighter places only eight jet planes will be provided to Paksitan other eight to China Air Force.” Serial production of JF-17 would kick off in the year of 2007, added Mr. Latif.

Annually total 20 JF-17 thunder planes, however, would be manufactured, said the air vice marshal.

Super Seven is a light weight, multi-role day-night, all weather fighter with max TO weight 12,700kg, max speed 1.6M, ceiling 16,500m, max weapon load 3,900kg, range 3,000km. It uses Russian RD-93 turbofan engine, which is an upgrade of RD-33, this RD-93 turbofan engine is also used in Russian MiG-29 it is claimed to 80-85% as capable as American F-16 and highly aerial maneuverability as its key features. RD-93 engine used in FC-1 is build in China with Russian license. The aircraft can also be fitted with an in-flight refueling probe and a deck arrester hook.

This will increase its striking range beyond 3,000km.

JF-17 thunder plane is designed to be fitted with vast array of weaponry. It has a total of seven store stations, one under the fuselage and six under the wing with a maximum weapon load of 3,800kg.

The Joint Fighter-17 primary air to air weapon is a medium range SD-10 Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile. Other weapons it can carry are short and medium range AAMs (Anti-Air Missiles) like AIM-9P/PL-9/Magic 2 and PL-11/Aspide/AIM-7E etc. In addition to that it can carry wide array of high and low drag bombs, laser guided bombs, runway penetration bombs and cluster bombs for air strikes.

The project was initiated in February 1992, by China Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) who officially invited the PAF to invest in the Super-7 program. In return for full participation in design and development phase, with exclusive co-production rights. After careful consideration Pakistan Air Force (PAF) decided to go ahead with is project and got the Government approval in October 1994.

This project is a joint venture between Pakistan Air Force and China Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation along with Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC). Research and Development cost of this project is between 450 to 500 million US dollars This multi-million dollar project is financed up to 50%-59% by government of Pakistan. Estimated cost per air craft will be around 15-20 million US dollars which makes it excellent option for export market.

Oeps… Forgot the link. F16.net… The rest is easy enough for you guys…

Originally posted by Arthur
Also bad:

What the hell is this F16 doing here in Afghanistan? Putting his nose in a minefield is the answer…:D

I think that Belgium and Holland are scaling down. If you knew how big these nations are and how many F16’s they bought then you would think that there is an F16 on every corner…:D

It means that Belgium is also closing another airfield. The Netherlands is closing Twente AFB… Those are also F16AM so fully upgraded… But do remember that they have enough flight hours but it is almost sure that they will be offered on the international market.

Correct, mr Warnes was seen in Islamabad (thursday last week) and it was told that there will be an article about JF17.

About GD advice… I am not making a flame but react correct to flamers. Sofar a couple have been banned and it suprises me that some are still allowed to go on. But understood…

About Stealth… We know. It is not high tech but just some measures to reduce RCS. But there are not many planes with internal bays… Not even Rafale or JSF so stop making them holy…