ISLAMABAD Nov 22 (APP): Pakistan will formally rejoice its joining the fighter aircraft manufacturers club on Monday on roll out of first multi-role state-of-the art aircraft being crafted with the help of evergreen friend China. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will be the chief guest at the rolling out of the bomber-cum-fighter plane which is to be held at the mother industry - Pakistan Aeronautical Complex - of JF-17 Thunder at Kamra.
This will kick start a new era in Pak-China relationship, and aviation industry, an official told APP here Sunday. Both China as well as PAF attach a lot of importance to this project which is materializing after hectic and laborious efforts, spanning over almost a decade, he said.
The PAC has generated all the capability to produce the aircraft locally for its onward delivery to PAF besides materializing purchase orders from abroad as export.
The JF-17 Thunder a new generation, light-weight, all weather, day/night multi-role fighter aircraft with glass cockpit, hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls and efficient man-machine interface will ensure a minimal pilot workload.
The maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and a high thrust-to-weight ratio will enable it to perform well in an air defence role. An ability to carry short - as well as long-range air-to-air missiles, lends the aircraft a first shot capability of conventional as well as non-conventional arsenal.
In the surface attack role, a variety of weapons - conventional as well as precision-guided, a sophisticated avionics suite along with accurate weapon delivery system, ensure higher mission success rate.
An effective ECM suite will greatly enhance survivability of the platform. Its anticipated air-to-air refuelling capability will provide the JF-17 with more loiter time to safeguard the frontiers and the ability to deliver the required punch at distance. It will replace the ageing fleets of A-5s, F-7Ps and the Mirages in the PAF inventory thus fulfiling a multi-role task.
In addition to that the PAC would also be able to export its surplus production in the days to come as the aircraft has received acclaims from the user like PAF.