Argentina is looking forward to buying 12 JF-17 Thunder aircraft from Pakistan.
The South American country has allocated around $664 million in its next year’s budget for this purpose.
It is pertinent to note that Argentina has chosen to acquire Pakistan’s Thunder aircraft despite offers from Russia, India, and the United States for different aircraft.
According to Pakistan Strategic Forum (PSF)’s A/O Division, a media outlet focusing on Pakistan’s air defense updates, the 12 JF-17s would include ten single-seater Block IIIs and two dual-seat Block IIIs.
The news outlet added that the planes the South Asian country is providing to the South American country are “supersonic, multirole 4+ generation” fighter aircraft.
These aircraft can perform “combat air control, air interdiction, beyond visual range (BVR) missile integrated battle, long-range maritime strikes, standoff range precision ground strikes, anti-radiation SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses)/DEAD (Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses), and electronic warfare.”
It is pertinent to note that Argentina had initially signed a contract with South Korea to procure 12 FA-50 fighter jets.
However, due to diplomatic pressure from the United Kingdom (UK), the deal was revoked by South Korea.
The UK and Argentina are geopolitical rivals, and ties between the two states have been strained since the 1980s after the latter attacked British Overseas Territories (BOTS) in 1982.
These included the territories of Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI).
This resulted in a ten-week-long war that resulted in a British victory.
What are your views on this? Share with us in the comments below.
The deal is with China. Pakistan will get its share because the assembly line and some parts are manufactured in Pakistan. It is very good for JF17 thunder.
they broke the deal with Korea due to UK pressure.
They will break the deal again with China/Pak due to pressure.
For those who want to know if Argentina is buying this from Pakistan or China.
– Air frame of the Jet is produced 58% in Pakistan, while 42% in China.
– Final Assembly and overhauling is done in Pakistan.
– Missiles(like PL10, PL15, CM400) are from China.
So overall, both China and Pakistan will benefit from this deal.