Qatar Plans To Buy Pak JF-17 Fighter Jet, Super Mushshak Trainer

Qatar has expressed interest to buy JF-17 fighter jets, Super Mushshak trainers from Pakistan.

Qatari Defence Minister called on Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and expressed interest in buying Mushshak and JF-17 Thunder aircraft to strengthen bilateral defence ties, Tribune reported Thursday.

“We are desirous of buying Super Mushshak and JF-17 Thunder aircraft from Pakistan and also want to set up military cooperation and production of equipment in Qatar with the assistance of Pakistan and Turkey,” a PM House statement quoted Dr Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah as saying.

Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan, Qatar and Turkey can set up joint ventures for undertaking defence related manufacturing of military equipment. “Our relationship with Qatar means a lot to us and you can count on Pakistan as your closest ally and brotherly state.”

“The trade volume between Qatar and Pakistan will multiply, especially after the import of LNG from Qatar,” Sarif added.

Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and Qatar Emiri Air Force had signed an agreement for supply of Super Mushshak Aircraft in June this year.

In February, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) made a goodwill visit to Qatar with two Super Mushshak trainers and two JF-17 multi-role fighters.

Pakistan recently signed a contract to sell 12 Mushshak trainers to Nigeria. It is also likely to sell JF-17 fighters to Nigeria during the IDEAS show in Karachi in November. Nigeria has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan to purchase the Pakistani-Chinese PAC/CAC JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter in September this year. Nigeria had set aside funds in the federal budget this year worth NGN5 billion (USD25 million) for three JF-17s.

The Joint Fighter-17 (JF-17) Thunder multi-role fighter was jointly developed by China and Pakistan and is fitted with Russian Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine with afterburner.

The fighter’s primary weapons are Chinese PL-12/SD-10 medium-range air-to-air missiles with active radar-homing. The aircraft also carries short-range Chinese PL-7, PL-8, PL-9 or US AIM-9P, mounted on wingtip rails.

The JF-17 multi-role fighter can also carry general purpose of laser-guided bombs. Aircraft has no in-flight refueling capability.

Pakistan will also be exporting 100 MFI-395 Super Mushshak trainers to Turkey.

The MFI-395 is an upgraded and locally manufactured variant of the MFI-17 Mushshak. The original deal with Turkey was for about 50 aircraft, so it now appears to have doubled in size.