Published: 08:00 AM, 08 June 2026
Points and Counterpoints of Buying JF 17 Fighter Jets
When a training aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force crashed inside the country on May 20, a systematic and prompt state sponsored cover up was set in motion from both Pakistani and Chinese sides to conceal the jet’s country of origin.
A report on the crash from the Chinese government mouthpiece Xinhua deliberately excluded the details about the jet, especially the model of the aircraft. But videos of the crashed jet clearly show it was a Hongdu JL-8 trainer aircraft.
Similarly, when reports emerged about another crash, this time of a much-touted JF 17 fighter jointly produced by China and Pakistan, both countries sought to cover up news of the crash near Kamra, close to the aircraft’s production hub in Pakistan.
That desperate bid to keep the international community in the dark about technical flaws of China’s much hyped “battle tested” jets can only be explained by fears that exposure may adversely affect efforts by both China and Pakistan to market these aircrafts to third countries like Bangladesh.
The Sino-Pakistan propaganda overdrive last year to prove the ‘ huge success ‘ of the China-designed and Pakistan-produced jets against the Indian Airforce’s Russian and French-made jets during Delhi’s ” Operation Sindoor” was also done to boost the marketing prospects of these combat aircrafts.
An Associated Press report citing French intelligence exposed how the Chinese government even engaged its embassies to spread doubts about the performance of French-made Rafale jets during and after the brief war between Pakistan and India.
China-made air defence systems also failed to stop Indian missile and drone precision strikes on nine Pakistani military bases and terror camps linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, using BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and air-launched munitions. Despite the revelation of satellite images of damaged bases, Pakistani officials kept repeating a barrage of disinformation, triggering a fierce cyber war.
Every time a Chinese design jet goes down in Pakistan due to technical failures, a similar pattern of state sponsored deception campaign surfaces.
Consistent hollow pledges of official enquiry into those crashes and refusal of public acknowledgement on the jet’s particulars show that Pakistan has ostensibly turned into a display board of sub-standard Chinese weaponry.
This jointly manufactured disinformation hides the danger of reliance on China, as Pakistan ardently seeks to export these jets mainly to Muslim countries.
Now in the aftermath of the latest jet crash at Kamra, the persistent refusal to disclose the identity of crashed jet- from the Chinese and Pakistani side offers an alarming lesson for aspiring countries that intend to procure these faulty equipment for their defence.
The case of Bangladesh offers a poignant example.
A recent high-level delegation from Pakistan visited Bangladesh this month to push the possible purchase of JF 17 jets by Bangladesh. Earlier in January, a Reuters report on a potential pact covering the sale of these jets to Dhaka triggered widespread discussion on the possible outcome of the deal for Bangladesh. The latest crash in Pakistan rattled many in Bangladesh and raised questions about the wisdom of importing China-Pakistan made JF-17 fighters.
In July last year, Bangladesh witnessed its deadliest aviation disaster in decades after an F-7 Air Force training aircraft (Chinese made) crashed into the Milestone School and College in Dhaka,due to technical glitch, leaving over 20 students killed and hundreds injured who are still bearing the brunt of the crash.
Xinhua carried several stories on the Milestone incident, but focused on casualties and carefully avoided mentioning that the F-7 jet was procured from China. Like Pakistan, Bangladesh’s armed forces also remain a key buyer of Chinese weaponry for decades.
Despite making huge profits through selling faulty military equipment to Bangladesh, China has been less than truthful about the client state. Beijing is only interested in boosting sales, often by greasing palms in the right quarters.
With Bangladesh’s new prime minister Tarique Rahman scheduled to visit China in June, his first foreign visit after assuming office, the grapevine is abuzz about finalization of a deal with Bangladesh to sell China-designed and Pakistan-manufactured JF-17 fighters for boosting its air warfare capabilities. The highly active Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka, Yao Wen, seems to have already lined up the military top-brass including the Army and Air Force Chiefs to back the deal.
But some retired Bangladesh Air Force veterans have questioned the proposed purchase of JF-17 fighters. They say if India is the main projected military threat and the boost in Bangladesh’s air combat capabilities is primarily aimed at countering Indian aerial aggression in the event of a war, the Pakistan made Chinese fighters and air defence systems will hardly serve the purpose. ” Pakistan clearly failed to counter the Indian precision strikes conducted mostly beyond visual range during Operation Sindoor. That forced Pakistan to seek US help to push India to stop the war,” said a retired Bangladesh air commodore but on condition of strict anonymity. ” If the equipment came a cropper against India in the four-day war, it is inconceivable how it can help Bangladesh defend against India. ”
But ruling regimes in Bangladesh have often decided on costly procurement from foreign countries not because Bangladesh needed the platforms but because decision-makers were promised fat cuts. The Yunus-led interim regime’s decision to purchase dozens of Boeing passenger jets is a case in point. Yunus’ successor may be following the same road, oblivious to the consequences to the national exchequer.
More importantly, the nation deserves an answer to the most pressing question whether this move to pump so much money for defence is really necessary at a time when more allocations are required to save lives given that over millions got trapped into vicious cycle of poverty last year and millions of parents are toiling day and night with their kids at hospitals in the wake of the deadliest measles outbreak that already took over 500 lives due to vaccine outage.
The Myanmar Air Force’s fleet of 11 JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft supplied by Pakistan has reportedly been grounded, and has created a dent on the relations between the Myanmar and Pakistani governments, as well as on the reputation of the JF-17 in the global export market, according to Myanmar media outlets.
According to independent Myanmar media outlet The Irrawaddy, the Myanmar Air Force’s fleet of JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft that have been delivered only between 2018 and 2021 have been grounded since 2022 due to “technical malfunctions”, quoting analysts and former pilots of the Myanmar Air Force monitoring the Myanmar military’s capabilities.
Another independent Myanmar-based media outlet Narinjara News reported that these problems were identified to be structural cracks and airframe damage, issues with the Weapon Mission Management Computer, and poor performance of the Chinese-made KLJ-7AI fire control radar, as well as a variety of other technical problems and malfunctions that gave the Myanmar Air Force reasons to declared the JF-17 Thunder fleet as “technically unfit for operations”.
Technicians and engineers from the aircraft’s manufacturer Pakistan Aeronautical Complex were reportedly sent to Myanmar to fix the problems but apparently failed to bring the aircraft back to operational status.
There are also concerns that Myanmar technicians do not have the technical know-how to maintain and repair the JF-17’s weapon and avionics systems.
Latest reports have indicated that Myanmar’s Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Administration Council Gen. Min Aung Hliang has expressed his displeasure on the fighter fleet’s condition to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Armed Forces chief General Asim Munir.
The Chinese Government has also reportedly intervened in the issue, with the Chinese envoy to Myanmar personally delivering a message from the Chinese Communist Party’s top leadership to Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Min Aung Hliang. This is due to the Chinese involvement in the JF-17 Thunder development through Chengdu Aircraft Industries Group.
Pakistan is said to be renegotiating with Myanmar by offering newer variants of the JF-17 Thunder but there is little information to confirm Myanmar’s reply or acceptance of the offer.
The Myanmar Air Force has been using the JF-17 Thunder in its campaign against the People’s Defence Force and the exiled National Unity Government of Myanmar, which have been waging a civil war against Myanmar’s military junta. With the JF-17s grounded, the Myanmar Air Force is resorting to use its other combat aircraft including the MiG-29 Fulcrum, and other older or less capable combat aircraft.
Nasir Uddin Shah is Chief Reporter at The Asian Age.
