After The Muslim Bomb. The Fighter Jet?
Turkey and Pakistan are working on eliminating their differences, under the aegis of China, indeed.
The two nations are on the verge of signing a defence agreement allowing them to co-manufacturer missiles and fighter jets.
After the ‘Muslim Bomb’ a nickname given to Pakistan’s possession of atomic bombs, are we getting the Muslim fighter jet?
Bloomberg says officials from the two countries held meetings discussing the manufacture of military hardware.
“Officials from both sides have confirmed that the meetings did take place in January,” says Bloomberg.
This will open the way for Pakistan to be part of the making of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets. The jet is under development between Pakistan and China.
Turkey would also be able to collaborate on defence projects with Pakistan in the coming days says the report.
They are talking about the development of Turkey’s Siper-long-range missile-defence project and TF-X fighter jets.
JF-17 Thunder/FC-1 Xiaolong is a single-engine, lightweight, multipurpose combat aircraft in development jointly by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation of China and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.
The manufacture of this medium-sized aircraft is mainly to meet the needs of the Pakistan Air Force. It will replace its current ageing fleet of Nanchang A-5, Chengdu F-7P/PG and Dassault Mirage III/V fighter aircraft, says Airforce Technology.
PAF will procure 42 JF-17 fighters as part of a 2009 $800m deal with China. It plans to procure 250 aircraft at a cost of $3bn-5bn.
The Week India calls the cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan an attempt to build the ‘1st big fighter jet of Muslims’.
TF-X FIGHTER JETS
The TF-X is a stealth twin-engine all-weather air superiority fighter by Turkish Aerospace Industries in collaboration with BAE Systems.
Plans are for the aircraft to replace F-16 Fighting Falcons of the Turkish Air Force and to be exported to foreign air forces. (Wikipedia)
Turkey originally planned to fly the TF–X in 2023, but aerospace officials put off the target date to the 2025-2026 time frame.