Pakistan has Integrated its Own Standoff Weapons with Turkish Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı: Turkiye Urdu

[PakAlp]

The JF-17 project provided an opportunity to develop some of the parts in-house and was a good learning experience on the whole. The fundamental objective was to create a jet fighter that was better than F-7PG and replace it and other older jets. This purpose is served.

People forget this, back in 2001 time we only had around 57 F16s from 1980s, the rest were F7s, F6s and A5s, Mirages. We couldn't buy F16s and J10 wasn't that mature. We desperately needed 300 4th generation planes, with BVR etc and Jf17s was the perfect fighter. It will serve us well till 2040, we can install any type of weapons on it, produce even 500, export it, many parts are produced in Pakistan so less cost. I think paf done fantastic.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Akinci is a game changing weapons system , most probably don't realise how crucial this system will be with stand off weapons and long endurance

Night mare for enemy air defences

When you employ them at 50k+ feet with AESA radar, EW and SIGINT for 24/7 it means 02-27s are spontaneously sputtering...

 

[PakAlp]

IMO, the only net-new development projects Pakistan can and maybe should pursue are UCAVs of various sizes and capabilities. These can be simpler to develop than a manned jet while also playing critical roles in the future, e.g. loyal wingman, deep strike, etc.

Any chance UCAVs will become the 6th and 7th generation fighter jets. Pakistan should definitely invest heavily in to this, including AI.

 

[Bilal Khan (Quwa)]

People forget this, back in 2001 time we only had around 57 F16s from 1980s, the rest were F7s, F6s and A5s, Mirages. We couldn't buy F16s and J10 wasn't that mature. We desperately needed 300 4th generation planes, with BVR etc and Jf17s was the perfect fighter. It will serve us well till 2040, we can install any type of weapons on it, produce even 500, export it, many parts are produced in Pakistan so less cost. I think paf done fantastic.

32 F-16s in 2001.

 

[Muhammad Saftain Anjum]

TAI Anka-3.

At least Anka-3 type UAV should be done at home.

 

[Battlion25]

Pakistan is favored by Turkiye you are getting our unconditional support wherever possible. I dont think Turkiye would give any other country this kind of privilege.

That is true. Our alliance and defence cooperation has been yielding great result

 

[prothought]

I'm slightly sceptical of whether the PAF will keep that many JF-17s operational by 2040, and there's only so much you can do with the aiframe of the JF-17 until it essentially becomes a completely new design. Yes, funding is always going to be an issues, when is it never? But here we are with all the current doom and gloom and the PAF is signing up to the KAAN project, as well as countless other ongoing armed forces projects, so make of that what you will. The main reason why I think an altogether different single engine FGFA programme could be on the cards is synergies with an optional unmanned loyal wing variant, as well as using the lessons learnt from the JF-17 programme and extend those to a nex gen type. Moreover, if we assume just 90 FGFAs and the rest of a c. 400 fleet comprising J-10s and JF-17s, that still means three quarters of the PAF fleet comprising previous gen platforms, which in my view won't cut it past 2040. A fleet comprising 90-100 KAAN, 100-150 single engine FGFA, 50 loyal wingman variant, and 60-90 J-10C would be better suited by 2040-50, in my view.

I believe future air wars will heavily involve UCAUs rather than piloted planes. And I think most successful future UCAV will have a relatively smaller size but a big punch. Today's UAVs are very simple designs and of low capabilities than those of future wars. Using AI algorithms, future UCAVs will get into dog fights with other planes (piloted or otherwise), make realtime decisions during their missions, and outperform enemy defences smartly and pick the targets based on verbal description fed to them. This is the time that Pakistan focuses on that. JF-17 Thunder project provides Pakistan with an invaluable experience and technical knowhow that can be leveraged to proceed in that direction. To me that is the real benefit of this project. Focusing on producing bigger planes is not really feasible for Pakistan.

 

[arslank03]

IMO...developing a LIFT around the AI-332F would be an excellent idea. First, a LIFT of that size would fit the PAF's desired niche more so than the near-fighter-class LIFTs on the market today (e.g., ACM Sohail Aman said that operating costs of those were comparable to JF-17). Second, it would be a much more modest indigenous fighter program from which we can build aircraft design and development capacity.

Personally, I liked the GROT-2 concept. Basically, a Polish company proposed it to Ukraine as a joint-project. Their idea was to use a single AI-322F turbofan engine. If it had materialized, it'd be similar in size to the BAE Hawk series, which is what I think the PAF is probably gunning for when seeking an appropriate LIFT platform. It could make for a neat UCAV too.

View attachment 947535

aside from the GROT-2, theres a pretty big missed opportunity here:

The Pampa. The PAF has the ability to undertake a super mushak style program once again. Use this as the base airframe, modify it into a NG LIFT and boom, PAF requirement met, collaboration with the Argentinians as offset for JF-17 selection done and also another entrant into the LIFT market which is dominated by the M346 and its variants