Recent photos taken by Chengdu city spotters show that the first JF-17 aircraft for the Burmese Air Force is now out of the assembly line and is entering Flight tests.

The acquisition of the JF-17 by the Burmese armed forces was confirmed by their officers in November 2016 at the last Air Show in Zhuhai , without revealing the details. But we are talking about a contract on a total of 16 Fighters with 35 million USD a piece by the local sources close to the file.


The first JF-17M (?) Is preparing on the tarmac of the Factory 132 in Chengdu (Photo: 背心 背心)

The exterior elements of this first JF-17M (?) Indicate that it is a Block II standard device. Originally developed by the 611 Chengdu Institute of the Chinese aircraft manufacturer AVIC for the needs of the Pakistani Air Force, the JF-17 Block II includes a detachable refueling pole, an improved avionics suite that allows the aircraft Exchange data with the AWACS ZDK-03 , a wider range of Air-Surface weapons and electronic warfare pods.


The mere fact that Burmese air forces have no airplanes or AWACS at the moment, and that this first aircraft is manufactured in Chengdu, China, and not Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) in Kamra, suggests that Burma would have Requested customized changes based on the Block II standard, changes that require the first copies to be made by the design office and the original plant.




The JF-17 Block II customized for the Burmese Air Force is in flight to Chengdu (Photos: 中保镖 保镖)

Apart from Pakistan and Burma as the first and second customer of this light combat aircraft designed exclusively for the export market by the Chinese aircraft manufacturer, Nigeria also unblocked in 2016 the federal budget for the purchase of three JF -17 and thus becomes the third country to acquire the aircraft.

Sri Lanka, which appears to be interested in acquiring six JF-17s, has allegedly sent pilots to China to carry out tests.

To be continued.

Henri K.

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