Bangladesh is in discussions with Pakistan about the possible acquisition of the Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 fighter.
The potential acquisition was discussed during a visit by Bangladesh’s air chief Hasan Khan to Pakistan, where he met with Pakistani air chief Zaheer Sidhu, according to Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) agency.
“The Bangladeshi Air Chief praised [the Pakistan air force’s] combat record and expressed interest in benefiting from its operational expertise, seeking assistance in maintenance support for Bangladesh’s ageing fleet and integration of air defence radar systems to enhance air surveillance,” says the ISPR.
“Detailed discussions were also held on [the] potential procurement of JF-17 Thunder aircraft.”
Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that Bangladesh operates 55 fixed-wing aircraft with a combat role. These comprise 35 Chengdu F-7s, six RAC MiG-29s, and 14 Hongdu K-8W trainers that also have a secondary ground attack capability.
The average age of the overall fleet is 19.1 years. The average age of the F-7s is 22.4 years, and the MiG-29s 25.8 years.
Separately, news agency Reuters cites unnamed sources as saying that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in talks to convert about $2 billion in Saudi loans to the South Asian nation into JF-17s.
Given that Riyadh has traditionally relied on Europe and the USA for combat aircraft, obtaining a jet with substantial Chinese involvement would be a significant departure.
Overall, 172 JF-17s are in service globally. The main operator is Pakistan with 155 examples, with small numbers operated by Azerbaijan, Myanmar, and Nigeria.
The type is powered by a single Klimov RD-93 engine, although a Chinese engine, the Guizhou WS-13 Taishan, is in development.
Block III versions of the JF-17 feature a Chinese active electronically scanned array radar, the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET) KLJ-7A. NRIET has said that the KLJ-7A can track dozens of targets simultaneously and is resistant to jamming.
