Breaking news
Myanmar reportedly signed contract with Pakistan for the JF-17 Thunder jet fighter.
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World
Defense & Security News - Myanmar |
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| Myanmar reportedly signed contract with Pakistan for the JF-17 Thunder jet fighter | |||
According
to local medias, Pakistan's Ministry of Defense said that a contract has
been signed between Islamabad and Myanmar to sell the JF-17 Thunder multirole
fighter, also known as the FC-1 Xiaolong, which was jointly developed
by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex,
Islamabad's Capital Television reported on March 18. |
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The
report said various countries including Nigeria, Bangladesh, Tajikistan
and Myanmar had shown great interest in purchasing the fighter from Pakistan
because its price is much cheaper than other fighter jets of the same
class such as the F-16 and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Myanmar demonstrated
its interest in the fighter back in June 2014, according to the the Myanmar
Times. In June 2014, the Burma Times revealed that Myanmar was looking to purchase a license to domestically produce the JF-17 aircraft, which is called the FC-1 Xiaolong in China. If the report is accurate, it would make Myanmar the first foreign purchaser of the jet. Currently, only Pakistan’s Air Force operates the JF-17 and, as Ankit has reported, Islamabad is in the process of making a number of upgrades to the fighter jet. Myanmar has previously operated or currently operates a number of Chinese-made aircraft including 48 NAMC A-5C fighters, 52 Chengdu F-7M Airguard fighters and 4 Y-8 medium lift transports. The Southeast Asian nation’s air force also recently purchased Sky 02A Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from China. Myanmar also wants to build a production line with the assistance of China and Pakistan to build the fighter for itself. Thanks to previous cooperation with China, Myanmar already has experience in producing Chinese aircraft such as the J-7 fighter or Q-5 attacker. The purchase of the Thunder has not yet been confirmed by government officials in Myanmar. Pakistan is pushing hard to sell the fighter to foreign markets but none of the countries mentioned above has yet made a decision. |
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