Pakistan’s JF-17 to fly at Paris Air Show 2015

Asia-Pacific, News June 9, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

As the world’s oldest and largest air show, the Paris Air Show is the undisputed queen of its kind.

The tarmac of Paris-Le Bourget Airport is set, once again, to be heaving with manufacturers, military representatives, businessmen and the general public from across the globe.

The 51st Air Show, organised by the French Aerospace Industries Association, is starting on June 15 at the Le Bourget Parc des Expositions and will continue till June 21.

One of the most intriguing aircraft to come to the show is the Pakistani JF-17 Thunder, designed and built jointly by China and Pakistan. Three of the aircraft left yesterday for Paris from Pakistan. One will fly, one will be on static display and the other is, presumably, a backup. The aircraft is presumably being shown to see if Pakistan and China can attract any export customers. It’s currently scheduled to fly on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a PAF statement, one JF-17 aircraft would perform in the flying display, while another would be on static display throughout the air show.

The JF-17 aircraft has previously participated in various air shows around the world, including Farnborough Air Show (in the UK), Zhuhai Air Show (China), Turkish Air Show (Turkey) and the Dubai Air Show (UAE).

It is a lightweight multi-role aircraft jointly developed by PAF and China Aero-technology Import Export Corporation (CATIC) and co-produced by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and CATIC.