As the Indian aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) hopes to deliver the latest variant of the Indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A after a series of delays, the China-Pakistan joint production JF-17 Block III is already participating in international exercises with Rafale, F-15 Eagle, and Eurofighter Typhoon.
The JF-17 Block-III is the first major upgrade of the JF-17 Thunder, a lightweight multi-role fighter that is co-produced by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China (CAC) and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC).
In the coming decades, the JF-17 will be one of the mainstay combat aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which operates around 120 fighters in multiple variants.
The PAF inducted the JF-17 Block III variant in 2023, and the fighter jet was fully operationalized in 2024. It has been compared with India’s homegrown fighter jet, LCA ‘Tejas,’ as both are single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft.
Recently, the JF-17 Block III participated in the multinational air wargames Victory Spear 2025 in Saudi Arabia. The exercise was planned and coordinated by the Air War Center of the Royal Saudi Air Force and was conducted as a LIVEX (Live Exercise). Besides Greece, the participating nations included Saudi Arabia, deploying F-15, EF-2000, and Tornado aircraft; Bahrain with F-16; France with Rafale; Pakistan with JF-17; Qatar with EF-2000; the United Arab Emirates with Mirage 2000-5; the United Kingdom with EF-2000 and the United States of America with F-16. Additionally, Australia, Egypt, Jordan, Italy, Morocco, and Spain took part as observers.
“For this international deployment, PAF fighters executed a non-stop flight from their home base in Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and back, conducting in-flight air-to-air refueling, demonstrating long-range operational capabilities of the JF-17 Block-III aircraft,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The exercise took place from January 26 to February 6, and 15 countries participated in the war games. It focused on addressing current and emerging threats, advancing tactical capabilities, and promoting joint operational strategies. The ISPR asserted that the JF-17 Block-III displayed its combat performance against advanced fighter jets, earning recognition for its technological strengths and operational potential.
The Thunder has a Chinese airframe, Western avionics and is powered by a Russian engine.
The JF-17 Block III has been fitted with state-of-the-art radars and electronic warfare subsystems while retaining the airframe design of the preceding Block-I and Block-II. The most noticeable changes in the design include a modification at the rear of the aircraft by the vertical stabilizer, a slightly enlarged spine, and the integration of sensors to the vertical stabilizer and side inlet areas. The latter may be radar warning receivers (RWR) and/or missile alert warning systems (MAWS).
The JF-17 Block-III has KLJ-7A active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar that increases accuracy in target detection and tracking while reducing its own radar signature and increasing its stealth features.
The JF-17 Block III has an integrated electronic warfare (EW), self-protection suite, and helmet-mounted display and sight (HMD/S) system. The hybrid flight control system has been replaced by a three-axis fly-by-wire (FBW) system. The three-axis FBW was first used on the dual-seat JF-17B (of which the PAF will procure 26 aircraft).
The JF-17C is armed with the newly acquired PL-15E long-range air-to-air missile (LRAAM), which has a stated range of 145 km. It can also launch the PL-10E high off-boresight air-to-air missile (HOBS AAM), which the HMD/S can cue for within-visual-range (WVR) engagements.
It has been reported that the JF-17C is capable of deploying the Taimur air-launched cruise missile (ALCM), which can be used against fixed and moving targets (including surface warships) at a range of up to 280 km.
The JF-17 Block-III will be the first (and potentially only) 4+ or 4.5-generation multi-role fighter addition in the PAF to replace its aging fleet of Mirages.
PAF vs IAF – Indigenous Fighter Jets
The single-seat variant, JF-17 Block III, conducted its maiden flight in Chengdu, China, on December 15, 2019. The PAF placed an order for 50 JF-17 Block 3 aircraft and received the first of the latest JF-17 on December 4, 2023.
Pakistan is pitching JF-17 Block III as being at par with the Indian LCA Mk-2, whose maiden flight is expected to be in early 2026. Following a series of delays, the Indian aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is expecting to deliver the LCA MK1A variant to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in March 2025.
The HAL has promised to ramp up production to meet the IAF’s requirements. The service is worried about its depleting fighter strength as its adversaries—the PAF and the PLA-Air Force—undergo rapid modernization.
The recently concluded air show Aero India-2025 saw IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh publicly voicing his concern over HAL’s overpromising and underdelivering.
HAL Chief Dr. DK Sunil, comparing the JF-17 with the Indian home-grown fighter jet, said, “In LCA, but for engine, everything is Made in India.” The HAL Chief was speaking from the perspective of LCA being a lucrative export option in comparison to the JF-17 Thunder.
An HAL official associated with the development of the LCA had earlier told the EurAsian Times: “Tejas is a more capable, maneuverable, agile, and reliable aircraft than the JF-17. Also, the Chinese JF-17 was initially powered by a Russian RD-93 engine. The Chinese Air Force (PLAAF) itself found the JF-17 unsuitable for induction.”
The Chinese offered their local WS-13 engine to JF-17 operators, but Pakistan refused it for its JF-17 Block III fighter jets, which are still powered by Russian engines.
The GE-404 engine, which powers many military aircraft globally and will be powering LCA MK1A, does inspire reliability. However, the fact remains that the IAF is yet to get its first LCA MK1A, and as the IAF Chief said: “I was promised that when I come here in February, 11 Tejas Mk1As would be ready. And not a single one is ready…. The aircraft that you flew is called Mk1A. It is not an Mk1A. It cannot happen just by change of one software or by looks. When the weapons come, and the capability comes, then it’s a Mk1A.”
While a single platform could not tilt the war in a country’s favor, the quantitative and qualitative edge that the PAF currently has over the IAF is worrisome.
After all, the PAF has announced plans to acquire the Chinese Shenyang J-35 fifth-generation fighter jets. This move is aimed at enhancing its aerial capabilities and countering the growing air power of its regional rival, India.
The deal reportedly involves the procurement of 40 J-35 fighter jets, which are expected to enter service within the next two years.
