JF-17 PFX program

[Deino]

I am not over looking the project and my assessment is based on publicly available information.

Das mag ja sein, aber die Frage ist, wer sind diese angeblichen Analysten die die öffentlichen Aussagen getroffen haben! Zumindest @Quwa aka Bilal Khan never stated these exaggerated claims.

 

[Deino]

Das mag ja sein, aber die Frage ist, wer sind diese angeblichen Analysten die die öffentlichen Aussagen getroffen haben! Zumindest @Quwa aka Bilal Khan never stated these exaggerated claims.

Sorry, forgot the translation!

That may well be the case, but the question is: who are these so-called analysts who have made these public statements? At the very least, @Quwa, aka Bilal Khan, never made these exaggerated claims.

 

[mythbuster]

No one has the inside info including Quwa....all you need is common sense to figure out that JF 17 with it's present airframe and engine has no room for any substantial improvement...new airframe is a must for JF 17.

 

[RAMPAGE]

Sorry, forgot the translation!

That may well be the case, but the question is: who are these so-called analysts who have made these public statements? At the very least, @Quwa, aka Bilal Khan, never made these exaggerated claims.

Hey, an Ex. PAF Air Commodore (equivalent to a one-star general), Khalid Chishti, who regularly appears on national TV, and very likely functions as an informal spokesperson for PAF, has confirmed that PFX is a completely different platform, and its R&D is 'well underway.' I think it is safe to conclude that such a program does exist.

However, I am sympathetic to your skepticism. The operational requirement for such an aircraft is far from obvious, and we certainly lack the know-how and industrial capacity needed to develop such a program. However, there is substantial know-how and industrial capacity dispersed among various state-run organizations. For example, PAC and NESCOM collectively have substantial airframe design and manufacturing capacity. PAC and NRTC have significant avionics development and manufacturing capabilities. NESCOM has, from what I understand, the capacity to design and manufacture at least basic flight control systems (missiles and UAVs like the Shahpar series, including the larger Shahpar 3). It could be that this program's goal is to ultimately manufacture a low(ish) observable 4.5 generation multirole fighter as a technology demonstrator by bringing together and building on various design and manufacturing capacity currently scattered across state-run military industry. If and when this is accomplished, Pakistan can invite its allies, including KSA, Turkey, Qatar, and Indonesia, to collaborate on a much more mature next-generation fighter. At that point, these countries ought to be able to collectively fund and manufacture such a platform should their requirements align.