New trouble for Pakistan as Shehbaz Sharif’s nation faces crunch for China-developed JF-17 jets; read details here

At present, Pakistan manufactures fewer than 20 JF-17 fighter jets every year. Out of these, most become a part of their own air force directly.

Pakistan is suddenly in an unusual place where its fighter jets, developed with China, are attracting attention from several countries around the globe at a single time. The increase is accompanied by the interest of multiple countries in the jets. It also strengthens the ambition of Islamabad to become a major defence exporter. However, the challenge to the situation is that Pakistan may not be able to meet so many demands of building the fighter jets.

Why’s everyone eyeing the JF-17?

Pakistan has stated that it has received many enquiries for the JF-17 from countries in recent months. Iraq, Indonesia, and Bangladesh have shown their interest. In addition, countries like Saudi Arabia and Libya have also begun to explore the option, as reported by Reuters.

This comes after Pakistan publicly appreciated the performance of the fighter jets developed by China during the military confrontation in May 2025 with India during Operation Sindoor.

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What are the experts saying?

A research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, Manoj Harjani, stated that the JF-17 is looked upon as “a market disrupter due to its affordable price tag and, more importantly, its recent success in combat.” He added that it’s “not hard to imagine the JF-17 becoming more widely adopted, especially by militaries that cannot afford fighters produced by Western companies.”

Why is Pakistan unable to meet demands?

At present, Pakistan manufactures fewer than 20 JF-17 fighter jets every year. Out of these, most become a part of their own air force directly. This makes the room for air exports already quite condensed. The process of scaling up production is not easy.

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A senior with the German Marshall Fund Indo-Pacific Program, Sameer Lalwani, said, “I don’t see any actor willing or able to put down the capital to expand production lines.” He added, “Absent that, Pakistan would have to be exporting from its own stock, or countries would have to wait several years for delivery to a point where the platform is approaching obsolescence.”