Pakistan received its first batch of six J-10Cs from China last week which landed at the Minhas Airbase Kamra in Attock district, Punjab province. These 6J-10Cs are the first batch of 25 multi-role fighter jets which Pakistan had agreed to buy from China. This new squadron is seen as a response to India’s recently acquired Rafale fighter jets. Given Pakistan’s historical animosity vis-à-vis India and its eternal quest to achieve military prowess at par with New Delhi, it becomes pertinent for us to look into the fighter aircrafts at the disposal of the Pakistan Air Force which can mount considerable challenges for the Indian defence establishment in the wake of renewed hostilities. So, here’s a list of top military aircrafts in service of the Pakistan Air Force:
1. J-10C Chengdu J-10 is a medium-weight, fourth-generation, multirole combat aircraft manufactured by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. It is a single seater jet. It has a length of 16.9m, wingspan of 9.8m and a height of 5.7m. The maximum take-off weight is 19,277 kg. The maximum speed is Mach 1.8 and has a combat range of 2600 km. It is powered by one WS-10B engine which provides a thrust of 89.17 kN. It boasts firepower such as air-to-air missiles (PL-8/10/12/15) and air-to-surface missiles (KD-88 and YJ-91). It employs Type 1473H pulse-doppler fire control radar which has a 75-130 km detection range. It took its first flight in 1998. Pakistan Air Force currently has 6 J-10Cs in service.
2. General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon F-16 is an all-weather multi-role fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics. The production was later taken over by Lockheed Martin. Pakistan Air Force is mostly equipped with the C/D Block 52 variant of F-16. It is a single seater and single engine aircraft. The length is 15.06m, wingspan is 9.96m and the height is 4.9m. The maximum take-off weight is 19,187kg. The maximum speed is Mach 2.05 or 2,121kmph at 40,000 feet. The combat range is 546km. It is powered by Pratt & Whitney F100-PW229 afterburning turbofan which produces a dry thrust of 79kN. It is armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder/AIM-120 AMRAAM/Python-4,5 air-to-air missiles. It is also armed with air-to-surface and anti-ship missiles. It is equipped with AN/APG-68 radar with a range of just under 300km (296.32km). Pakistan Air Force currently has 85 F-16s in service.
3. JF-17 Thunder JF-17 Thunder is a multi-role, fourth-generation combat aircraft jointly developed by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. It is a single-crew (in JF-17A and twin seater in JF-17B) single engine jet. It has a length of 14.326m, wingspan of 9.44m and height of 4.57m. The maximum take-off weight is 13,500kg. The maximum speed is Mach1.6-1.8 (1910kmph). The combat range is 1450km. It is powered by Klimov RD-93 afterburning turbofan which gives a thrust of 49.4kN. It is armed with PL-5DE/9C/10E/15E/12(SD-10A) air-to-air missiles. It is also armed with CM-102, MAR-1, LD-10 air and -to-surface missiles. It is also equipped with C-601, C-705KD anti-ship missiles. It is equipped with KLJ-7-A V2 — Active electronically scanned array (AESA) with a range of 150-200km. Currently, there are 134 JF-17 in service of the PAF.
4. Mirage-5 Dassault Mirage-5 is a supersonic attack aircraft designed by France’s Dassault Aviation. It is a single-seater, single engine aircraft with a length of 15.55m, wingspan of 8.22m and height of 4.5m. The maximum take-off weight is 13,700kg. The engine is SNECMA Atar 9C turbojet with a thrust of 41.97kN. The maximum speed is 2350kmph and the combat range is 1250km. It ia armed with guns, records and bombs. PAF currently has 69 Mirage-5 in service.
5. Mirage-III Mirage-III is an interceptor and fighter aircraft developed by Dassault Aviation. Pakistan is the only current operator of Mirage-III. It is a single seater aircraft with a length of 15.03m, wingspan of 8.22m and a height of 4.5m. The maximum takeoff weight is 7050 kg. The maximum speed is 2350kmph. The combat range is 1200km. It is powered by two engines, one SNECMA Atar 09C turbojet engine with a thrust of 41.97kN and one SEPR841 engine with a thrust of 14.7kN. It can carry air-to-air missiles (AIM-9B Sidewinder). Currently, there are 60 Mirage-III in service of the Pakistan Air Force, all of which are planned to be replaced with JF-17s by 2030.
6. F-7PG Skybolt F-7PG Skybolt/ Chengdu J-7 is a third-generation fighter which is a license-built version of Soviet-era MiG-21. It is a single seater jet with a length of 14.884m, wingspan of 8.32m and a height of 4.11m. The maximum speed is Mach 2 or 2200 kmph and a combat range of 850 km. It is powered by one Liyang Wopen-13F (Tumansky R-13 from Soviet-era) providing a 44.1 kN thrust. It boasts firepower PL-2/5/7/8/9/13 air-to-air missiles. It employs Italy’s FIAR Grifo-7 mkII radar. There are currently 47 J-7s in service with the PAF. They will be replaced by JF-17s Block-3s BY 2025.
