Pak’s Indigenous Fifth Gen Fighter Completes Initial Conceptual Design Phase

Pakistan’s “Project Azm” whose centrepiece involves development of its own fifth generation fighter has accelerated, with first of the four “conceptual design phase” cycles being concluded.

“First cycle of conceptual design phase has been completed. The first configuration that was designed based on the challenging performance requirements of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will go through three more cycles within the conceptual design using higher fidelity analysis tools and codes,” Pakistan Ministry of Defence Production’s (MoDP) yearbook for 2017-2018, states.

Launched in 2017, Project Azm includes Islamabad’s fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) program, a stealth-capable medium-altitude and long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV), new munitions and smart long-range surface-to-air missile systems.

In terms of the FGFA, in a recent interview with the PAF Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, stated that he does not expect the FGFA to become operational for “another decade.”

“The design work of the MALE UAV is in its final stages,” PAF Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Sohail Aman, had said in 2017.