By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan secured a memorandum of understanding with an undisclosed friendly nation for the sale of its advanced JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jet at the Dubai Airshow, in a deal the military described as a milestone that underscored growing international confidence in the country’s aviation industry.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, said in a statement on Thursday that “several countries expressed interest in acquiring the battle-proven fighter aircraft” and that the signing of the memorandum marked “another significant milestone in Pakistan’s expanding defence and industrial partnerships.”
The JF-17 Block III, the latest variant of the multirole fighter jointly developed with China, emerged as one of the focal points of the biennial airshow, held at Al Maktoum International Airport from Nov. 17 to 21. A Pakistan Air Force contingent showcased the aircraft alongside the Super Mushshak trainer, highlighting Islamabad’s push to market its indigenous defence capabilities on the global stage.
“Demonstrating increasing international confidence in Pakistan’s aviation industry, several countries expressed interest in acquiring the JF-17 Thunder,” the ISPR statement said. “In a noteworthy development, an MoU was signed with a friendly country for the procurement of the JF-17 Thunder.”
The Block III is a 4.5-generation fighter equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar and long-range beyond-visual-range missiles. Pakistan has promoted it as a cost-effective alternative to Western jets, and the aircraft has already been exported to Nigeria, Myanmar and, most recently, Azerbaijan, which inducted Block III models this year.
The jet has been central to Pakistan’s air combat narrative in its confrontations with India. The Pakistani military says the aircraft proved itself in the 2019 Balakot crisis, when JF-17s conducted stand-off strikes across the Line of Control from Pakistani airspace in response to Indian airstrikes, and again in May 2025 during Operation Marka-e-Haq,” when JF-17s armed with supersonic missiles destroyed an Indian S-400 air defence system at Adampur air base.
Pakistan also says the jets struck more than 20 Indian military targets and downed several Indian aircraft during the four-day conflict in May, which began after India launched missile strikes inside Pakistan on the night of May 5-6. New Delhi described those strikes as pre-emptive action against terrorist infrastructure following an attack in Pahalgam; Pakistan said the Indian missiles killed civilians and security personnel.
On the sidelines of the airshow, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, Pakistan’s air force chief, held meetings with counterparts from several nations. He met separately with Lt. Gen. Pilot Ibrahim Nasser Al-Alawi, the UAE undersecretary of defence, and Maj. Gen. Rashid Mohammed Al-Shamsi, commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence.
The discussions focused on advanced training cooperation, collaboration in emerging aerospace technologies and improved operational coordination. According to the ISPR, the UAE leadership “lauded PAF’s modernisation initiatives and growing indigenous capabilities with a shared resolve to further strengthen military engagement through joint exercises, professional exchanges and forward-looking partnerships.”
The JF-17 program began in 1999 as a joint venture between Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. The first flight took place in 2003, with initial Block I aircraft entering Pakistani service in 2007. Block II production began in 2013, and the more capable Block III was formally inducted in March 2023.
Pakistan has positioned the jet as an affordable, high-performance platform for air superiority, ground attack, maritime strike and suppression of enemy air defences, and the aircraft has steadily replaced older French Mirage and Chinese F-7 fighters in the Pakistani fleet.
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