The serial production of JF-17 Thunder Aircraft will start from next year, said Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Tanveer Mahmood Ahmad on Friday.

Briefing reporters at the Kamra Aeronautical Complex about the jet and its production plans, he said that in the first phase, 15 of the jets would be jointly produced with Chinese assistance and then PAF would raise 10 to 12 squadrons of 200 to 250 of the jets by 2015 if adequate funding was available.

The reporters were also briefed about the manufacturing process and features of the jet as well, which is powered by a Russian engine and has excellent all-weather operational capabilities.

The jet can be used with equal effectiveness for maritime (naval) services and can be armed with nuclear and other non-conventional weapons He said that Pakistan would be able to export some variants of the fighter if talks in this regard succeeded. “Talks are also underway with China for purchasing more advanced J-10 jet fighters as well,” he said. He said that the US had delivered 12 refurbished F-16 jets, while 18 new F-16 would be purchased in the first and second quarter of 2010. To a question, he said that Indian MIG–29s were not a “serious concern” to the PAF, since “our warplanes are equal to them in all respects”.

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