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The JF-17 Block III is an upgraded light fighter within the Pakistan–China Thunder programme. This profile separates its avionics standard from earlier Block I and Block II aircraft.
Pakistan / ChinaCAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder
TunaFish Spotting · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source ↗ · ModifiedTechnical data
Multirole Combat Aircraft
Pakistan / China
Pakistan Aeronautical Complex / Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group
In service
Pakistan Air Force Myanmar Air Force Nigerian Air Force Azerbaijani Air Forces
>200
In China: June 2007 – present In Pakistan: January 2008 – present
12 March 2007
25 August 2003
1 (single-seat JF-17), 2 (dual-seat JF-17B)
14.33 m (47 ft 0 in)
9.44 m (31 ft 0 in)
4.57 m (15 ft 0 in)
24.43 m 2 (263.0 sq ft)
7,965 kg (17,560 lb)
13,500 kg (29,762 lb)
Internal: 3,000 L (2,449 kg); External (3 drop tanks): 1 × 800 L (180 imp gal) under-belly drop tank; 2 × 800 L (180 imp gal) or 1,100 L (240 imp gal) under-wing drop tanks
1 × Klimov RD-93MA afterburning turbofan (91.2 kN (20,500 lbf) thrust with afterburner) with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) (previous engine: 1 x Klimov RD-93 afterburning turbofan (84.4 kN (18,974 lbf) thrust with afterburner)
1,910 km/h (1,190 mph, 1,030 kn)
900 km (560 mi, 490 nmi) on internal fuel, 1,741 km (1,082 mi, 940 nmi) with drop tanks
1,800 km (1,100 mi, 970 nmi) on internal fuel, 3,482 km (2,163 mi, 1,880 nmi) with drop tanks
16,916 m (55,500 ft)
300 m/s (59,000 ft/min)
1 × 23 mm GSh-23 twin-barrel cannon
8 (2 × wingtip, 4 × under-wing, 1 × under-fuselage, 1 × chin) with capacity for dual ejector racks on each under-wing hardpoint
3,400 kg (7,500 lb)
150 km/h (93 mph, 81 kn)
+ 8/ - 3 (limited by flight control system)
1.07 with RD-93
Air-to-air missiles : PL-5EII — (Infrared Homing, Short Range Missile) PL-10E — (Infrared Homing, short range missile) PL-12AE (SD-10A) — (Radar Guided, Beyond Visual Range Missile) PL-15/PL-15E — (Radar Guided, Beyond Visual Range Missile) R-Darter — (Radar Homing, Beyond Visual Range Missile) Faaz-1 (Active Radar Homing and Imaging Infrared) Faaz-2 (Active Radar Homing and Imaging Infrared) Air-to-surface missiles : CM-102 — ( Anti-radiation missile ) LD-10 — (Anti-radiation missile) MAR-1 — (Anti-radiation missile) Ra'ad-II — (Subsonic land attack/anti-ship cruise missile ) CM-400AKG — (Supersonic long-range air-to-surface missile) LD-8A Anti-radiation missile
PL-5EII — (Infrared Homing, Short Range Missile) PL-10E — (Infrared Homing, short range missile) PL-12AE (SD-10A) — (Radar Guided, Beyond Visual Range Missile) PL-15/PL-15E — (Radar Guided, Beyond Visual Range Missile) R-Darter — (Radar Homing, Beyond Visual Range Missile) Faaz-1 (Active Radar Homing and Imaging Infrared) Faaz-2 (Active Radar Homing and Imaging Infrared)
CM-102 — ( Anti-radiation missile ) LD-10 — (Anti-radiation missile) MAR-1 — (Anti-radiation missile) Ra'ad-II — (Subsonic land attack/anti-ship cruise missile ) CM-400AKG — (Supersonic long-range air-to-surface missile) LD-8A Anti-radiation missile
C-601 — (Anti-ship missile) C-705KD — (Anti-ship missile) C-802AK — (Anti-ship missile) Ra'ad (air-launched cruise missile) Ra'ad-II — (Nuclear-capable subsonic long-range cruise missile) CM-400AKG — (Supersonic long-range anti-ship missile) Taimoor — (Subsonic sea-skimming long-range anti-ship cruise missile)
Unguided bombs : 250 kg — Pre-fragmented Bomb Pk-82 — (General-Purpose Bomb) Pk-83 — (General-Purpose Bomb) PK-84 — (General-Purpose Bomb) HAFR-1 — (Anti-runway Bomb) HAFR-2 — (Anti-runway Bomb) RPB-1 — (Anti-runway Bomb) BLU-107 — (Anti-runway Bomb) Mk 20 Rockeye II — (Cluster Bomb) Guided bombs : H-2 SOW — (Glide Bomb) H-4 SOW — (Glide Bomb) GBU-10 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) GBU-12 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) GBU-16 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) LT PGB LT-2 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) TG/GB PGB GB-500/GB1 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) TG/GB PGB GB250A/GB3A — (Laser-Guided Bomb) TG/GB PGB GB-6 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) LS PGB LS-6/500 — (Glide Bomb) YL PGB CS/BBF1 (YL-3) — (250 kg (550 lb) Thermobaric Bomb) SCP-5 — (Bunker Buster Bomb) AZB-81 LR — (Small Diameter Bomb) Takbir — (Weapons Guidance & Range Extension Kit) GIDS IREK — (Range Extension Kit) AZB-Series REK — (Range Extension Kit) Al Battaar — (Laser-Guidance Kit)
250 kg — Pre-fragmented Bomb Pk-82 — (General-Purpose Bomb) Pk-83 — (General-Purpose Bomb) PK-84 — (General-Purpose Bomb) HAFR-1 — (Anti-runway Bomb) HAFR-2 — (Anti-runway Bomb) RPB-1 — (Anti-runway Bomb) BLU-107 — (Anti-runway Bomb) Mk 20 Rockeye II — (Cluster Bomb)
H-2 SOW — (Glide Bomb) H-4 SOW — (Glide Bomb) GBU-10 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) GBU-12 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) GBU-16 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) LT PGB LT-2 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) TG/GB PGB GB-500/GB1 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) TG/GB PGB GB250A/GB3A — (Laser-Guided Bomb) TG/GB PGB GB-6 — (Laser-Guided Bomb) LS PGB LS-6/500 — (Glide Bomb) YL PGB CS/BBF1 (YL-3) — (250 kg (550 lb) Thermobaric Bomb) SCP-5 — (Bunker Buster Bomb) AZB-81 LR — (Small Diameter Bomb) Takbir — (Weapons Guidance & Range Extension Kit) GIDS IREK — (Range Extension Kit) AZB-Series REK — (Range Extension Kit) Al Battaar — (Laser-Guidance Kit)
External Pods: Aselsan ASELPOD — Advanced Targeting Pod (Electro-Optical Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Targeting System) WMD-7 — FLIR Day/Night Targeting Pod Panjnad EW Pod — Indigenous DRFM airborne self-protection and escort jamming pod developed by NASTP to replace foreign electronic attack suites. Countermeasures: Chaff/Flare dispensers
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
JF-17 Thunder equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
AzerbaijanReported count for JF-17 Thunder · JF-17 Block 3. Service scope: Azerbaijani Air Forces; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Excludes retired/reserve/on-order rows. Count column(s): in service: 9. Origin: China / Pakistan. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
ChinaNumber column of the Wikipedia list table under "Fighter aircraft". The list's own wording applies; it is a compiled secondary source, not an official census.
MyanmarAir Force exact named equipment holdings: JF-17 Thunder (FC-1 Block II). Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: AIRCRAFT / FGA. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
NigeriaAir Force exact named equipment holdings: JF-17 Thunder (Block II). Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: AIRCRAFT / FGA. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
PakistanDirectory active-fleet estimate for the source types JF-17; JF-17B, grouped under JF-17 Thunder. Sums only the listed service and role rows; includes training and special-mission versions where explicitly listed. Excludes the separate Ordered column, aircraft in storage, aircraft undergoing or awaiting upgrades, and the directory's other exclusions. This is the dated directory coverage of these types, not a complete owned-fleet census or a readiness count.
Pakistan Air Force Myanmar Air Force Nigerian Air Force Azerbaijani Air Forces
Equipment reference ↗The system in detail
A compact single-engine fuselage carries swept wings, side intakes and one vertical tail. The two-seat JF-17B has a different cockpit and should not be represented by the single-seat model.1
Block III centres on radar, cockpit and electronic-system improvements. Weapon integration depends on the delivered software and customer clearance; an advertised weapon is not automatically part of every squadron configuration.1
The linked PAC reference is the starting source for the programme. Block-specific equipment and numeric specifications remain candidates until their exact scope is checked.1
Compare the named block, not a mix of early airframe limits and later advertised electronics. Lightweight aircraft also differ from heavy fighters in fuel volume, payload and support requirements.1
Visual reference
JF-17 at the 2019 Paris Air Show. Historical programme photograph; the Block III profile describes a later avionics standard.
Ibex73 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source ↗ · Modified