The A-5C, J-7, Mirage III, and Mirage V jets effectively guarded the aerialboundaries of Pakistan for decades before they were replaced with JF-17fighters that were inducted by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in February2010.

As its name suggests, the Joint Fighter-17 or JF-17 aircraft has beenjointly developed by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and ChengduAircraft Corporation (CAC) of China.

The JF-17 jet can perform multiple roles including interception, groundattack, anti-ship, and aerial reconnaissance. In addition to this, it candeploy a number of weapons including air-to-air missiles, air-to-surfacemissiles, and 23 mm twin-barrel autocannon.

The JF-17 aircraft dominated the headlines across the globe in February2019 when tensions across the Pakistan-India border escalated to a pointwhere the world feared that a full-blown conflict between the twonuclear-armed neighbors was inevitable.

Three years later, PAF inducted J-10C fighter jets after acquiring themfrom China in just eight months rather than the years that defensemanufacturers usually take to deliver fighter jets such as the J-10C.

The J-10C fighter aircraft has been developed by the CAC. It was unveiledin Pakistan in an official ceremony that was attended by Prime Minister,Imran Khan, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu,Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff,Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi, Defense Minister, Pervaiz Khattak, seniorofficials of the three forces, and members of the federal cabinet.

The J-10C fighter jet is a multi-role combat aircraft capable ofall-weather operations. It is primarily designed for air-to-air combat, butit can also perform strike missions.

With the 23rd March parade just days away, the country is set todemonstrate its military might. Since JF-17 and J-10C fighter jets willalso be seen performing aerial maneuvers, let’s look at the comparison ofboth aircraft:Basic Description*Attributes* *JF-17* *J-10C*Weight Light-weight Medium-weightEngine Single-engine Single-engineGeneration 4th generation 4.5thgenerationRole Multi-role Multi-roleGeneral Characteristics*Features* *JF-17* *J-10C*Crew 1 (single-seat JF-17A) or 2 (dual-seat JF-17B) 1 (single-seat)Length 47 feet 55 feet 2 inchesWingspan 31 feet 32 feet 2 inchesHeight 15 feet 18 feet 8 inchesWing area 263 sq. ft. 400 sq. ft.Empty weight 7,965 kg 9,750 kgMax takeoff weight 13,500 kg 19,277 kgFuel capacity 5,830 kg 7,380 kgPowerplant 1 x Klimov RD-93 afterburning turbofan with DEEC, 49.4 kN thrust dry, 84.4 kN with afterburner 1 x WS-10B afterburning turbofan engines,89.17 kN thrust dry, 142 kN with afterburnerPerformance*Characteristics* *JF-17* *J-10C*Maximum speed Mach 1.6 Mach 1.8Stall speed 150 km/h 200 km/hCombat range 1,450 km 2,600 kmFerry range 3,481 km 2,950 kmService ceiling 55,510 feet 56,000 feetG limits +8/-3 (limited by flight control system) +9/-3Rate of climb 59,000 ft./min. 59,000 ft./min.Thrust/weight 1.07 1.10Armament*Type* *JF-17* *J-10C*Guns 1 × 23 mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel cannon or 1 × 30 mm GSh-30-2twin-barrel cannon 1× Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23Hardpoints 8 (2 × wingtip, 4 × under-wing, 1 × under-fuselage, 1 ×under-chin) with capacity for dual ejector racks on each under-winghardpoint 11 (6× under-wing, 2× under-intake and 3× under-fuselage) with acapacity of 5600 kg of external fuel and ordnanceRockets – 90 mm unguided rocket podsAir-to-air missiles PL-5DE

PL-9C

PL-10E

R-Darter

PL-12

PL-15EPL-8

PL-10

PL-12

PL-15Air-to-surface missles CM-102

MAR-1

LD-10

Ra’ad-II

HD-1AKD-88

YJ-91Anti-ship missiles C-601

C-705KD

C-802AK

CM-400AKG

HD-1A–Unguided bombs 250 kg Pre-fragmented bomb

Mk-82

Mk-83

Mk-84

HAFR-1/HAFR-2

RPB-1250 kg and 500 kg Pre-fragmented bomb

Guided bombsGBU-10

GBU-12

GBU-16

LT-2

H-2 SOW

H-4 SOW

GB-6

NORINCO GB-250A NORINCO GB-500

LS-6

GIDS Takbir

GIDS Range Extension KitLT-2

LS-6

GB3

GB2A

GB3A

FT-1Avionics*JF-17* *J-10C*KLJ-7-A Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Fire-Control Radar Type1473H Pulse-Doppler Fire Control RadarALR-67 Rader Warning Receiver (RWR) K/JDC01A Targeting PodS740 Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS) Type Hongguang-I Infra-RedSearch and Track PodJZ/YD 125 IFF System CM-802AKG Targeting Pod for KD-88 and YJ-91MIT-STD-1553 Databus KG600 Electronic Countermeasure PodLink-17 Tactical Data Link Blue Sky Navigation/Attack PodVariants*JF-17* *J-10C*JF-17A Block 1 J-10AJF-17A Block 2 J-10AHJF-17B Block 2 J-10SJF-17 Block 3 J-10SHJ-10BJ-10B TVC DemonstratorJ-10CJ-10CEOperators*JF-17* *J-10C*China ChinaPakistan PakistanMyanmarNigeria——————————