Pakistan commits to Chinese missile, fighter systems

BEIJING - Pakistan is committed to arming its jointly developed fighter planes with Chinese missile and radar systems and is evaluating several Chinese surface-to-air missile systems, state media reported Thursday.

A Chinese advanced active radar and the mid-range SD-10 homing missile would become standard equipment for Pakistan’s planned fleet of 250 JF-17 fighter jets, which were jointly developed by the two nations, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman told the Global Times newspaper.

“PAF has no plans to install Western devices and weapons on the aircraft for the time being,” Suleman was quoted as saying of the JF-17s during this week’s Airshow China 2010 in the southern city of Zhuhai.

Pakistan was also interested in Chinese-made precision-guided bombs and advanced missile systems, including surface-to-air systems, he said.

In a separate interview in Zhuhai with the China Daily newspaper, Suleman said Pakistan was evaluating the advanced Hongqi-18 and several other Chinese surface-to-air systems.

The PAF had also taken delivery of the first of four Chinese ZDK-03 airborne warning and control system (AWACS) planes last week, he told the China Daily.

The latest JF-17 Thunder, known in China as the FC-1 Xiaolong, was shown in Zhuhai and had attracted interest from up to eight other nations, the Flightglobal website reported from the air show.

Pakistan had already confirmed orders for 50 JF-17s and had 14 of the fighter planes in operation, the website said.

China had “talked with many customers” during the design phase of the JF-17 and was willing to include technology transfer in any deals, it quoted Zeng Wen, vice-president of China’s state-run military aircraft marketing arm, as saying.

Suleman told China Daily that the PAF’s production of JF-17s was “on a very fast track” with plans to raise the total number of assembled planes to 25 by the end of the year.

“There is no shortage of trust and no shortage of will” between the Chinese and Pakistani military, he said. “There will be more projects developed successfully.”

Beijing-based military strategist Peng Guangqian told China Daily that the expanding military cooperation between China and Pakistan would have “almost no effect on the balance of military power between Pakistan and India”, particularly since India had recently signed a major defence deal with the US.