"This is the ultimate Mig-21" Topic

"1989, the Chinese Chengdu Aerospace Corporation unveiled a major upgrade for its locally-made F-7 jet fighter, a licensed copy of the classic Soviet MiG-21. The new F-7 variant moved the engine air intake from the nose tip to the sides of the fuselage, making room in the nose for a more powerful radar.

Twenty-one years later, this upgrade—now named JF-17 Thunder—is flying combat missions with the Pakistani air force, so far its sole user. Further enhanced with a new wing, a cutting-edge intake design and a new, more powerful engine, the JF-17 is Pakistan's most important front-line fighter—and a remarkable extension of a basic plane design dating back to the 1950s.

In essence, the JF-17 is the ultimate MiG-21. In a sector increasingly dominated by American-made stealth fighters, European "canard" planes and variants of the Russian Su-27, the JF-17 is an outlier—a highly evolutionary plane that doesn't try to be revolutionary.

After all, revolutionary is expensive…"

Full article here.
link

Amicalement
Armand

Not the first time this happened. The Chinese also developed the J-8/F-8 that uses a similar configuration in an enlarged MiG-21 airframe, and the A-5 did the same thing to the MiG-19 airframe (albeit to create an attack aircraft rather than an air combat fighter).

Damon.

New wing, new engine, new fusilage design so that air intakes are in the wing roots, with a new nose – how far does a plane have to change before it's considered a new plane? This one sounds like Abe Lincoln's axe!

It's also telling how much the wing and tail surfaces mirror the F-16.

>>> It's also telling how much the wing and tail surfaces mirror the F-16.

The Chinese got a lot of technology and assistance from Israel. I seem to remember that the US congress threatened to cut off $4 USD billion funding to Israel at one point over alleged technology transfer.

It is all bad news for Taiwan :-( You can find many articles on tech transfer from Israel to China. This is an old one (from 2003)

link

Article ignores a few things:

1. China is not inducting the JF-17 into service. It's purely an export fighter and it's mainly for Pakistan.

China is acquiring J-10 (developed from IAI Lavi), J-11/15-16 (Su-27/30/-33), JH-7 (less developed strike bomber in same category as Tornado) and new stealth fighters J-20 and J-21.

2. When it comes down to it, this thing is in the same wieght category as the JAS-39, not the F-16. It is also not even close to a JAS-39 in terms of performance or avionics.

It's closest rival in aviation is the Indian Light Combat Aircraft Tejas which is meant to be entering IOC this year.

3. No-one is buying this thing. Pakistan acquired 50 but procurement efforts for the next batch have stalled due to Pakistani economic problems. Plans for a 3rd Pakistani squadron equipped with JF-17s keep getting pushed back.

Instead the Pakistanis are acquiring some ex-Jordanian F-16s (which are ex-Dutch/Belgian/USAF) though which shows you how much they value the JF-17.

Because even an upgraded 1980s F-16A/B is still a far better plane than this one in terms of payload, performance and avionics.

Anyone that can afford supersonics is going Su-27/-30 or MiG-29 or JAS-39 (or F-35 if they're in the Uncle Sam club).

Even old ex-Israeli Kfirs and ex-SAAF Cheetahs have sold over the JF-17, not to mention 1980s F-16A/Bs (albeit gone through MLU upgrade).

In essence JF-17 is a symbol of Pakistani desperation to keep up with the Indians at a time when their main ally, the US. shut off the arms tap.