PAC JF-17 Thunder ZAP16.COM Air Show photography, Civilian and Military aircraft fact sheets

PAC JF-17 Thunder 12-138 Pakistan Air Force

The PAC JF-17 Thunder, or CAC FC-1 Xiaolong, is a lightweight, single-engine, fourth-generation multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China. It was designed to replace the A-5C, F-7P/PG, Mirage III, and Mirage V combat aircraft in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The JF-17 can be used for multiple roles, including interception, ground attack, anti-ship, and aerial reconnaissance.

Role	Multirole combat aircraft
National origin	Pakistan / China
Manufacturer	Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group / Pakistan Aeronautical Complex
First flight	25 August 2003
Introduction	12 March 2007
Status	In service
Primary user	Pakistan Air Force
Produced	In China: June 2007 – present In Pakistan: January 2008 – present
Number built	150 (2020)

Specifications (JF-17 Block 2)

General characteristics

Crew: 1 (single-seat JF-17A) or 2 (dual-seat JF-17B)
Length: 14.93 m (49 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 9.44 m (31 ft 0 in)
Height: 4.77 m (15 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 24.43 m² (263.0 sq ft)
Empty weight: 6,586 kg (14,520 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 13,500 kg (29,762 lb)
Fuel capacity: 2,330 kg (5,137 lb) internal fuel; 1 x 800 kg (1,764 lb) centre-line drop tank; 2 x 800 kg (1,764 lb) or 1,100 kg (2,425 lb) under-wing drop tanks
Payload: 4,600 kg (10,100 lb) external stores
Powerplant: 1 × Klimov RD-93 afterburning turbofan with DEEC, 49.4 kN (11,100 lbf) thrust dry, 84.4 kN (19,000 lbf) with afterburner
Powerplant: 1 × Klimov RD-93MA afterburning turbofan with FADEC (planned for Block 3 variant), 92 kN (21,000 lbf) with afterburner

Performance

Maximum speed: 1,910 km/h (1,190 mph, 1,030 kn)
Maximum speed: Mach 1.6
Cruise speed: 1,359 km/h (844 mph, 734 kn)
Stall speed: 150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
Range: 2,500 km (1,600 mi, 1,300 nmi)
Combat range: 1,352 km (840 mi, 730 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,500 km (2,200 mi, 1,900 nmi) with 3 external drop tanks
Service ceiling: 16,920m (55,510 ft)
g limits: +8/–3 (limited by flight control system)
Rate of climb: 300 m/s (59,000 ft/min)
Thrust/weight: 0.95 with RD-93 (with 50% internal fuel and 2 x SRAAMs), 1.10 with WS-13 engine

Armament

Guns: 1 × 23 mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel cannon or 1 × 30 mm GSh-30-2 twin-barrel cannon
Hardpoints: 7 (2 × wing-tip, 4 × under-wing, 1 × under-fuselage) with capacity for dual ejector racks on each under-wing hardpoint. The Block 3 variant will have 8 hardpoints with the addition of one on the starboard-side air intake (chin-mounted) for targeting and ESM/ECM pods.
Missiles:
- Air-to-air missiles:
  - PL-5EII — (Infrared-homing short range missile)
  - PL-9C — (Infrared-homing short range missile)
  - PL-10E — (Infrared-homing short range missile) (planned for Block 3 variant)
  - R-Darter — (Radar-homing beyond visual range missile)
  - PL-12 (SD-10A) — (Radar-guided beyond visual range missile)
  - PL-15 — (Radar-guided beyond visual range missile) (planned for Block 3 variant)
- Air-to-surface missiles:
  - LD-10 — (Anti-radiation missile)
  - CM-102 — (Anti-radiation missile)
  - MAR-1 — (Anti-radiation missile)
  - Ra’ad-II — (Air-launched cruise missile)
  - CM-400AKG — (Long-range air-to-surface missile)
- Anti-ship missiles:
  - C-601 — (Anti-ship missile)
  - C-705KD — (Anti-ship missile)
  - CM-802AKG — (Anti-ship cruise missile)
Bombs:
- Unguided bombs:
  - 250 kg — Pre-fragmented bomb
  - Mk-82 — (General-purpose bomb)
  - Mk-83 — (General-purpose bomb)
  - Mk-84 — (General-purpose bomb)
  - HAFR-1/HAFR-2 — (Anti-runway bomb)
  - RPB-1 — (Anti-runway bomb)
- Guided bombs:
  - GBU-10 — (Laser-guided bomb)
  - GBU-12 — (Laser-guided bomb)
  - GBU-16 — (Laser-guided bomb)
  - LT-2 — (Laser-guided bomb)
  - H-2 SOW — (Precision-guided glide bomb)
  - H-4 SOW — (Precision-guided glide bomb)
  - GB-6 — (Precision-guided stealth glide bomb)
  - NORINCO GB-250A — (250 kg Extended Range GPS/INS-Guided Bomb)
  - NORINCO GB-500 — (500 kg Laser-Guided Bomb)
  - LS-6 — (Extended-range GPS/INS guided bomb)
  - GIDS Takbir — (GPS/INS guided bomb)
  - GIDS Range Extension Kit — (GPS/INS guided bomb)

Avionics

Block 2: KLJ-7V2 — Airborne Pulse Doppler Fire-Control Radar (Range: 200 km against a target with a radar cross-section (RCS) of 5 m²)
Block 3: KLJ-7A – Air-cooled Airborne Fire-Control Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar (Range: 200 km against a target with a RCS of 5 m²)
Link-17 — Tactical Data Link
MIL-STD-1553 — data bus

Others:
- Aselsan ASELPOD — Advanced Targeting Pod (Electro-Optical Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Targeting System)
- WMD-7 — FLIR Day/Night Targeting Pod
- Indra Systems ALQ-500P — ESM/ECM Pod
- KG300G — Airborne Self-Protection Jamming Pod
- Countermeasures — Chaff, Flares
- GDJ-II19 — Dual Ejector Racks
- Up to 3 external drop tanks — 1 x 800 kg (1,764 lb) centre-line drop tank; 2 x 800 kg (1,764 lb) or 1,100 kg (2,425 lb) under-wing drop tanks) for extended range/loitering time