Sunday, March 8, 2009

China Builds Fighter Jets for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, March 7: The Pakistan Air Force and a Chinese firm signed an agreement on Saturday to produce a series of JF-17 (Thunder) aircraft for PAF.

The agreement, signed by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex chairman Air Marshal Khalid Chaudhry and CATIC president M.A. Zhiping, will be on the basis of “seller’s credit”. Under the agreement, 42 fighter jets will be produced jointly for PAF.

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed and Chinese Ambassador Luo Zhaohui attended the signing ceremony. Talking to reporters, the air chief said “in the beginning we will produce 15 aircraft annually and the number will later increase to 30. The programme will be carried out in phases.”

He said the first squadron of the fighter jets would be inducted into the PAF fleet by the middle of this year, adding that PAF had been using eight jointly produced aircraft for the past couple of years. The fleet would be raised in Peshawar, he added.

Rea it all here.

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