The JF-17 was primarily developed to meet Pakistan Air Force's (PAF) requirement of the for an affordable, modern multi-role combat aircraft as a replacement for its large fleet of Dassault Mirage III/5 fighters, Nanchang A-5 bombers, and Chengdu F-7 interceptors. It was also to have export potential as a cost-effective and competitive alternative to significantly more expensive Western fighters.
In 1999, Pakistan and China signed the contract to jointly develop the FC-1/Super 7. Initial difficulties in acquiring an avionics and radar package from Europe led to many problems, which was solved in 2001, when design of the airframe was "de-coupled" from the avionics. In 2003, the maiden flight of the first prototype occurred in China. The Pakistani designation "Super-7", meanwhile, were replaced with "JF-17". Later test flights with a modified design occurred in 2006. Deliveries to the PAF for further flight testing and evaluation began in 2007 and the aircraft's first public aerial display took place that year in Islamabad. The PAF officially inducted its first JF-17 squadron, No. 26 Squadron, on 18 February 2010 with fourteen aircraft.
The JF-17 is expected to cost approximately US$15 million per unit and the PAF has a confirmed order for 150 JF-17s, which may increase to 250 aircraft. Azerbaijan and Zimbabwe had placed orders for the aircraft while Bangladesh, Myanmar, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Algeria showed interest.
Airframe and cockpit
The airframe is of semi-monocoque structure, constructed primarily of aluminium alloys. High strength steel and titanium alloys are partially adopted in some critical areas. The airframe is designed for a service life of 4,000 flight hours, or 25 years, the first overhaul being due at 1,200 flight hours. Block 2 JF-17s incorporate greater use of composite materials in the airframe to reduce weight.
The mid-mounted wings are of cropped-delta planform. Near the wing root are the LERX, which generate a vortex that has the effect of providing more lift to the wing at high angles of attack encountered during combat manoeuvres. A conventional tri-plane empennage arrangement is incorporated, with all-moving stabilators, single vertical stabiliser and rudder, as well as twin ventral fins. The flight control surfaces are operated by a computerised flight control system (FCS), which also adjusts the slats/flaps for improved manoeuvring. Up to 3,629 kg (8,000 lb) of ordnance, equipment and fuel can be mounted under the hardpoints, two of which are on the wing-tips, four under the wings and one under the fuselage.
The retractable undercarriage is of tricycle arrangement, with a single steerable nose-wheel and two main undercarriage. The hydraulic brakes have an automatic anti-skid system. The nosewheel retracts rearwards into the fuselage and the main gear wheels retract upwards into the engine intake trunks.
Two bifurcated air inlets, one on either side of the fuselage behind and below the cockpit, provide the engine's air supply. The position and shape of the inlets is designed to give the required airflow to the jet engine during manoeuvres involving high angles of attack. A DSI design is used to simultaneously prevent boundary layer airflow entering the inlet and decelerate supersonic airflow.
The cockpit is covered by a transparent acrylic canopy designed to give the pilot a good all-round field of view. A centre stick is used for pitch and roll control while rudder pedals control yaw. A throttle is located to the left of the pilot. The cockpit incorporates hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls. The pilot sits on a zero-zero ejection seat; either the Martin-Baker Mk-16LE, which will be used on Pakistan Air Force fighters, or the Chinese TY-5B also fitted to the Chengdu J-10.
Avionics
Aircraft avionics
The software written for the JF-17's avionics totals more than one million lines of instructions, incorporating the concept of open architecture. Rather than using the Ada programming language, which is optimised for military applications, the software is written using the popular civilian C++ programming language to better use the large number of civilian software programmers available. The redesigned PT-04 prototype JF-17 had more advanced avionics than its predecessors, which are included on the production version of the aircraft.
The aircraft's glass cockpit incorporates an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) and a wide-angle holographic head-up display (HUD), which has a minimum total field of view of 25 degrees. The EFIS is made up of three colour multi-function displays (MFD) providing basic flight information, tactical information and information on the engine, fuel, electrical, hydraulics, flight control and environment control systems. The HUD and MFD can be configured by the pilot to show any of the available information. Each MFD is 20.3 cm (8 in) wide and 30.5 cm (12 in) tall, arranged side-by-side in a portrait orientation. The central MFD is placed lower down to accommodate an up-front control panel between it and the HUD.
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) experienced problems with the HUDs of its Russian-designed fighters, these tended to fog up due to deployment in humid sub-tropical and tropical zones. The Chinese HUD fitted to the JF-17 was developed to ensure this problem would not occur when deployed in any environment. Western HUDs can be incorporated directly onto the aircraft, if desired by the user, with little effort due to the modular avionics design and the adoption of the MIL-STD-1553B databus architecture. Information from the onboard radar can be displayed on the head-down multi-function displays or projected onto the HUD. This enables the pilot to keep his eyes focused at infinity so that he can simultaneously view radar images and monitor the airspace around him, without having to re-focus his eyes. Monochrome images from electro-optical navigation/targeting pods carried by JF-17 can also be projected onto the HUD.
The aircraft has a composite FCS consisting of conventional controls with stability augmentation in the yaw and roll axis and a digital fly-by-wire (FBW) system in the pitch axis. The leading edge slats/flaps and trailing edge flaps are adjusted by the FCS automatically during manoeuvring to increase turning performance. Some sources state that the system has been upgraded to provide fly-by-wire flight control in the roll and yaw axis also, the serial production aircraft having a digital quadruplex (quad-redundant) FBW system in the pitch axis and duplex (dual-redundant) FBW system in the roll and yaw axis.
The avionics also include a health and usage monitoring system. Automatic test equipment is supplied by Teradyne.
Tactical avionics
The communication systems comprise two VHF/UHF radios, one of them having capacity for data linking. The data link can be used to exchange data with ground control centres, airborne early warning and control aircraft and other combat aircraft also equipped with compatible data links. The ability to data link with other "nodes" such as aircraft and ground stations allows JF-17 to become part of a network, improving the situational awareness of the pilot and other entities in the network.
The JF-17 has a defensive aids system (DAS) made up of various integrated sub-systems. A radar warning receiver (RWR) gives data such as direction and proximity of enemy radars to the pilot and electronic warfare (EW) suite, housed in a fairing at the tip of the tail fin for greater coverage, that interferes with enemy radars. The EW suite is also linked to a Missile Approach Warning (MAW) system to help it defend against radar-guided missiles. The MAW system uses several optical sensors mounted on the airframe (two of which can be seen at the base of the vertical stabiliser) that detect the rocket motors of missiles and gives 360 degree coverage. Data collected by the MAW system, such as direction of inbound missiles and the time to impact, is also shown on the cockpit displays and HUD to warn the pilot. A counter-measures dispensing system releases decoy flares and chaff to help the aircraft evade enemy radars and missiles. The DAS systems will also be enhanced by integration of a self-protection radar jamming pod which will be carried externally on one of the aircraft's hardpoints.
The first 42 production aircraft currently being delivered to the PAF are equipped with the NRIET KLJ-7 radar, a smaller variant of the KLJ-10 radar fitted to the Chengdu J-10, developed by China's Nanjing Research Institute of Electronic Technology (NRIET). Its multiple modes allow surveillance and simultaneous engagement of multiple air, ground and sea targets, of which a total of 40 can be managed. Using the track-while-scan mode, the radar can track up to ten targets at BVR and engage two of them simultaneously with radar-homing AAMs. The operation range for targets with a radar cross-section (RCS) of 5 square metres (54 sq ft) is stated to be ≥105 km in look-up mode and ≥85 km in look-down mode.
It is known that a helmet-mounted sights/display (HMS/D) system will be installed on the JF-17, although the exact type is yet to be confirmed. A Chinese HMD is stated to be available for installation on the fighter. Also to be integrated is a forward looking infrared (FLIR) pod for low-level navigation in low visibility and infra-red search and track (IRST) system for passive monitoring and targeting of enemy aircraft. The JF-17 Block 2 is believed to incorporate an IRST.
A day/night laser designator targeting pod will be integrated with the aircraft's avionics and carried externally on one of the hardpoints for guiding laser-guided bombs (LGB). An extra hardpoint may be added under the starboard air intake, opposite the cannon, for mounting such pods. No specific targeting pod has been selected, but a Chinese system such as the Forward-looking Infra-red Laser Attack Targeting (FILAT) pod may be integrated if a suitable Western system is not available. To reduce costs associated with buying large numbers of targeting pods, during strike missions the aircraft's tactical data link will be used to transmit targeting data to other aircraft not equipped with targeting pods.
Propulsion and fuel system
The JF-17 is powered by a single Russian RD-93 turbofan engine, which is a variant of the RD-33 engine used on the Mig-29 fighter. The engine gives more thrust and significantly lower specific fuel consumption than the turbojet engines fitted to older combat aircraft being replaced by the JF-17. The advantages of using only one engine are that both maintenance time and cost are significantly lower than twin-engined fighters. A thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.99 can be achieved, with full internal fuel tanks and no external payload. The engine's air supply is provided by two bifurcated air inlets.
The Guizhou Aero Engine Group has been developing a new turbofan engine, the WS-13 Taishan, since 2000 to replace the RD-93. It is based on the Klimov RD-33 but incorporates many new technologies to boost performance and reliability. Thrust output of 80–86.36 kN (19,391 lb), life span of 2,200 hours and thrust to weight ratio of 7.8 are expected. An improved version of the WS-13 developing a thrust of around 100 kN (22,450 lb) is also reportedly under development.
The fuel system comprises internal fuel tanks located in the wings and fuselage, with capacity for 2330 kg (5,130 lb) of fuel, that are refuelled through a single point pressure refuelling system (see turbine fuel systems). Internal fuel storage can be supplemented by external fuel tanks. One 800 litre droptank can be mounted on the aircraft's centerline hardpoint under the fuselage and two 800 litre or 1100 litre droptanks can be mounted on the two inboard under-wing hardpoints. The fuel system is also compatible with in-flight refuelling (IFR), allowing the aircraft to take on fuel from a tanker aircraft when an IFR probe is installed and increasing its range and loitering time significantly. All production aircraft for the Pakistan Air Force are to be fitted with IFR probes.
Weaponry
JF-17 can be armed with up to 3,629 kg (8,000 lb) of air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry, as well as other equipment, mounted externally on the aircraft's seven hardpoints. One hardpoint is located under the fuselage between the main landing gear, two are underneath each wing and one at each wing-tip. All 7 hardpoints communicate via a MIL-STD-1760 data-bus architecture with the Stores Management System, which is stated to be capable of integration with weaponry of any origin. Internal armament comprises one 23 mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel cannon mounted under the port side air intake, which can be replaced with a 30 mm GSh-30-2 twin-barrel cannon.
The wing-tip hardpoints will normally be occupied by short range infra-red homing AAMs, while many combinations of various ordnance and equipment (including avionics such as targeting pods) can be carried on the under-wing and under-fuselage hardpoints. Underwing hardpoints can be fitted with multiple ejector racks, allowing each hardpoint to carry two 500 lb (241 kg) unguided bombs or LGBs (Mk.82 or GBU-12). It is currently unknown if multiple ejector racks can be used for other ordnance such as beyond visual range AAMs. The under-fuselage and inboard under-wing hardpoints are plumbed, enabling them to carry droptanks of various sizes for extra fuel.
Active radar homing BVR AAMs can be deployed once integrated with the on-board radar and data-link for mid-course updates. The Chinese PL-12/SD-10 is expected to be the aircraft's primary BVR air-to-air weapon, although this may change if radars of other origin are fitted. Short range infra-red homing missiles currently integrated include the Chinese PL-5E and PL-9C, as well as the AIM-9L. The PAF is also seeking to arm the JF-17 with a modern fifth generation close-combat missile such as the IRIS-T or A-darter. These will be integrated with the HMS/D as well as the radar for targeting.
Unguided air-to-ground weaponry includes rocket pods, gravity bombs of various sizes and the Matra Durandal anti-runway munitions. Precision-guided munitions such as LGBs and satellite-guided bombs are also compatible with the JF-17, as are other guided weapons such as anti-ship missiles and anti-radiation missiles.
In July 2011, it was reported that Pakistan has taken delivery of the Brazilian MAR-1 anti-radiation missile and is integrating the weapon on its PAC JF-17 Thunder aircraft as well as upgraded Dassault Mirage III and V ROSE fighters.General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 14.0 m (45.9 ft)
- Wingspan: 9.45 m (including 2 wingtip missiles) (31 ft)
- Height: 4.77 m (15 ft 8 in)
- Wing area: 24.4 m² (263 ft²)
- Empty weight: 6,411 kg (14,134 lb)
- Loaded weight: 9,100 kg (20,062 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 12,700 kg (28,000 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Klimov RD-93 or WS-13 turbofan
- Dry thrust: 49.4 kN / 51.2 kN (11,106 lbf / 11,510 lbf)
- Thrust with afterburner: 84.4 kN / 86.36 kN (18,973 lbf / 19,391 lbf)
- G-limit: +8.5 g / -3 g
- Internal Fuel Capacity: 2300 kg (5,130 lb)
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 1.8 (1,191 knots, 2,205 km/h)
- Combat radius: 1,352 km (840 mi)
- Ferry range: 3,480 km (1,880 NM = 2,160 mi)
- Service ceiling: 16,920 m (55,500 ft)
- Thrust/weight: 0.95
Armament
- Guns: 1× 23 mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel cannon (can be replaced with 30 mm GSh-30-2)
- Hardpoints: 7 in total (4× under-wing, 2× wing-tip, 1× under-fuselage) with a capacity of 3,629 kg (8,000 lb) external fuel and ordnance
- Missiles:
- Air-to-air missiles:
- Short range: AIM-9L/M, PL-5E, PL-9C
- Beyond visual range: PL-12 / SD-10
- Air-to-surface missiles:
- Anti-radiation missiles : MAR-1
- Anti-ship missiles: C-802A, C-803
- Cruise missiles: Ra'ad ALCM
- Air-to-air missiles:
- Bombs:
- Unguided bombs:
- Mk-82, Mk-84 general purpose bombs
- Matra Durandal anti-runway bomb
- CBU-100/Mk-20 Rockeye anti-armour cluster bomb
- Precision guided munitions (PGM):
- GBU-10, GBU-12, LT-2 laser-guided bombs
- H-2, H-4 electro-optically guided, LS-6 satellite-guided glide bombs
- Satellite-guided bombs
- Unguided bombs:
- Others:
- Up to 3 external fuel drop tanks (1× under-fuselage 800 litres, 2× under-wing 800/1100 litres each) for extended range/loitering time
Avionics
- NRIET KLJ-7 multi-mode fire-control radar
- Night vision goggles (NVG) compatible glass cockpit
- Helmet Mounted Sights/Display (HMS/D)
- KG-300G self-protection radar jamming pod
- WMD-7 day/night targeting pod
