Pakistan Deploys JF-17 Fighter Jet Squadron to Afghan Border

Pakistan’s new JF-17 “Thunder” combat aircraft has been deployed at the air force’s Samungli Base near Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, last month, the Associated Press of Pakistan reports.

The Number 28 Multirole Squadron stationed at Samungli Base officially inducted the combat aircraft in a ceremony on February 28. The multirole aircraft taking off is capable of reconnaissance, ground attack and aerial interception missions.

The squadron is tasked with the "responsibility of providing day and night aerial defence of the country, especially along the western borders of Pakistan," the defense official noted.

The JF-17 has been developed by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China. While Islamabad is the primary operator of JF-17 jets, Nigeria has incrementally inducted JF-17s to support "counter-air, counter-surface, air ops for strategic effect and air support operations," according to the country's budget documents for 2018.