Ukraine's Air Force (UAF) delegation headed by Colonel General Sergii Drozdov, UAF Commander visited Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAF) Kamra on March 06 this year setting off speculation that Kyiv was looking at buying the JF-17 Block III, whose first flight had taken place in January.
This was reported by Defenseworld.net.
“The visit is a lot more than just a photo-op,” said a Ukrainian industry source to defenseworld.net. The source who did not wish to be identified said, “the UAF is seeking to urgently replace an average 30 year old Mig-29s and Su-27s inherited from the former Soviet Union which are too old for major modernization."
The PAF’s media wing has released images of the UAF delegation visiting the plant with under-construction aircraft in the background, which look like fuselages of the JF-17.
The PAC JF-17 Thunder (Urdu: جے ایف-١٧ گرج), or CAC FC-1 Xiaolong (pinyin: Xiāo Lóng; literally: 'Fierce Dragon'), is a lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China.
The JF-17 Block III has garnered considerable attention from potential buyers mainly due to its headline features- a Chinese supplied active electronically scanning array (AESA) radar, the latest targeting and electronic warfare systems analogous to those found on much more expensive aircraft such as the F-16 and Jas 39 Gripen.