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News Update:
Ref:Asia Times Online :: South Asia news - China rises to Pakistan's defense
China rises to Pakistan's defense
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider
QUETTA, Pakistan - Islamabad and Beijing have pledged to expand and consolidate bilateral ties in the area of defense.
In a meeting last week with visiting Chinese Admiral Hu Yanlin, political commissar of the Chinese navy, Pakistani Defense Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal thanked the Chinese government for its continued support of the modernization plans of Pakistan's armed forces. The two sides underlined the need for long-term
sustainable relationship in defense.
Chinese assistance to Pakistan has been instrumental in strategic projects such as the JF-17 aircraft, F22 frigates and al-Khalid tank. Pakistan-China defense relations cover the defense industry and joint defense production and development. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) plans to buy new Chinese-made J-10 fighters in big numbers. Last year, the signing of the US$600 million frigate deal was considered a milestone in the defense cooperation of Pakistan and China.
Islamabad has increased the defense budget for the current financial year to Rs275 billion ($4.5 billion) from Rs250.2 billion last year.
Separate allocations have been made for the purchase of JF-17 aircraft from China. Announcing a 10% increase in the defense budget, the government vowed to have credible deterrence and invincible defense to ensure protection of the country's ideology and economic independence.
China is Pakistan's main supplier of military equipment, and it has been strengthening the defense industry of the South Asian country.
This March, two jointly developed JF-17s arrived in Pakistan for further tests and flight evaluation. The flight evaluation to be conducted by PAF will be a great deal of help in improving the performance of aircraft, facilitating the maturity of JF-17s and making the aircraft more competitive and reliable. The JF-17 had its first public appearance in Islamabad on March 23, during a National Day Joint Services Parade flyover.
The two sides tested the first prototype in August 2003, while another test flight was made in Chengdu, Sichuan province, the following month. The flight tests of prototype aircraft in China have been moving ahead smoothly. Last year, President General Pervez Musharraf inspected the JF-17 factory and assembly line in Sichuan. With its advanced design, state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, Mach 1.6 speed, advanced avionics and excellent handling capabilities, the JF-17 is on a par with the world's most advanced light fighter jets.
The production was completed in a record period of four years. China National Aviation Corp officially signed the development contract in 1999. The project initially suffered a setback due to imposition of economic sanctions against Islamabad in 1999 after 1998 nuclear tests. The sanctions hindered acquisition of avionics and weaponry for the aircraft.
The FC-1 fighter was also developed under a joint venture of China and Pakistan by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corp. It is a lightweight multi-purpose fighter based on a MiG-33 design and powered by a single Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine. It is capable of beyond-visual-range air-to-air combat, as well as laser-guided weapons delivery. Though primarily developed for Pakistan, it provides a low-cost replacement for many developing countries that are currently operating the aging MiG-21/F-7 and Northrop F-5 series.
FC-1 was originally known as the Super-7, which was the first fighter jet completely designed and manufactured by China. It was China's new-generation fighter that improved systems for attacking ground targets. Its advanced radar positioning and operating systems gave the plane greater flexibility and better close-range maneuverability than previous designs. Development of the Super-7 upgrade was slowed with the end of US technical assistance in1989.
China has developed the FC-1 as a substitute for the Super-7. The $500 million FC-1 project has support from the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp, mainly for export to replace the 120 F-7M/P fighters currently in service. The deal to manufacture 150 FC-1 jets was struck when Musharraf visited China in 1998.
In April 2005, the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex formally opened its JF-17 production facility at its Kamra factory. Production started that year, and the first four locally built aircraft were handed over to the PAF last December. The PAC plans to deliver four more aircraft this year. Serial production is planned to start this year, turning out 20 aircraft annually.
New frigates too
In May, Pakistan signed a $600 million defense deal with China, which includes construction of four F22P frigates for the Pakistan Navy, upgrading of the Karachi dockyard, and transfer of technology for indigenous production of a modern surface fleet. Under the deal, three frigates will be built in Shanghai, and the fourth will be constructed at Karachi dockyard, which will also be upgraded to enable Pakistan to build its own frigates later.
The first frigate is to be delivered to Pakistan next year and the other three by 2013 along with transfer of technology. The frigates will be equipped with helicopters specially designed for surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles along with numerous associated self-defense systems. This was the first time that the two navies reached a high-level collaboration to augment the surface fleet.
The Pakistani opposition parties accuse the government of fudging figures and understating defense-related allocations. They claim that the defense budget is actually far more than the Rs275 billion shown in official documents. The opposition parties call the ever-increasing military allocations without parliamentary oversight unjustified. They stress the need for carrying out an audit of defense expenditures by Parliament to examine whether and how much of the military budget has been used to enhance defense capability.
Syed Fazl-e-Haider, sfazlehaider05@yahoo.com, is a Quetta-based development analyst. He is the author of six books, including The Economic Development of Balochistan, published in May 2004.
News Update:
Ref:Asia Times Online :: South Asia news - China rises to Pakistan's defense
China rises to Pakistan's defense
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider
QUETTA, Pakistan - Islamabad and Beijing have pledged to expand and consolidate bilateral ties in the area of defense.
In a meeting last week with visiting Chinese Admiral Hu Yanlin, political commissar of the Chinese navy, Pakistani Defense Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal thanked the Chinese government for its continued support of the modernization plans of Pakistan's armed forces. The two sides underlined the need for long-term
sustainable relationship in defense.
Chinese assistance to Pakistan has been instrumental in strategic projects such as the JF-17 aircraft, F22 frigates and al-Khalid tank. Pakistan-China defense relations cover the defense industry and joint defense production and development. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) plans to buy new Chinese-made J-10 fighters in big numbers. Last year, the signing of the US$600 million frigate deal was considered a milestone in the defense cooperation of Pakistan and China.
Islamabad has increased the defense budget for the current financial year to Rs275 billion ($4.5 billion) from Rs250.2 billion last year.
Separate allocations have been made for the purchase of JF-17 aircraft from China. Announcing a 10% increase in the defense budget, the government vowed to have credible deterrence and invincible defense to ensure protection of the country's ideology and economic independence.
China is Pakistan's main supplier of military equipment, and it has been strengthening the defense industry of the South Asian country.
This March, two jointly developed JF-17s arrived in Pakistan for further tests and flight evaluation. The flight evaluation to be conducted by PAF will be a great deal of help in improving the performance of aircraft, facilitating the maturity of JF-17s and making the aircraft more competitive and reliable. The JF-17 had its first public appearance in Islamabad on March 23, during a National Day Joint Services Parade flyover.
The two sides tested the first prototype in August 2003, while another test flight was made in Chengdu, Sichuan province, the following month. The flight tests of prototype aircraft in China have been moving ahead smoothly. Last year, President General Pervez Musharraf inspected the JF-17 factory and assembly line in Sichuan. With its advanced design, state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, Mach 1.6 speed, advanced avionics and excellent handling capabilities, the JF-17 is on a par with the world's most advanced light fighter jets.
The production was completed in a record period of four years. China National Aviation Corp officially signed the development contract in 1999. The project initially suffered a setback due to imposition of economic sanctions against Islamabad in 1999 after 1998 nuclear tests. The sanctions hindered acquisition of avionics and weaponry for the aircraft.
The FC-1 fighter was also developed under a joint venture of China and Pakistan by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corp. It is a lightweight multi-purpose fighter based on a MiG-33 design and powered by a single Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine. It is capable of beyond-visual-range air-to-air combat, as well as laser-guided weapons delivery. Though primarily developed for Pakistan, it provides a low-cost replacement for many developing countries that are currently operating the aging MiG-21/F-7 and Northrop F-5 series.
FC-1 was originally known as the Super-7, which was the first fighter jet completely designed and manufactured by China. It was China's new-generation fighter that improved systems for attacking ground targets. Its advanced radar positioning and operating systems gave the plane greater flexibility and better close-range maneuverability than previous designs. Development of the Super-7 upgrade was slowed with the end of US technical assistance in1989.
China has developed the FC-1 as a substitute for the Super-7. The $500 million FC-1 project has support from the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp, mainly for export to replace the 120 F-7M/P fighters currently in service. The deal to manufacture 150 FC-1 jets was struck when Musharraf visited China in 1998.
In April 2005, the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex formally opened its JF-17 production facility at its Kamra factory. Production started that year, and the first four locally built aircraft were handed over to the PAF last December. The PAC plans to deliver four more aircraft this year. Serial production is planned to start this year, turning out 20 aircraft annually.
New frigates too
In May, Pakistan signed a $600 million defense deal with China, which includes construction of four F22P frigates for the Pakistan Navy, upgrading of the Karachi dockyard, and transfer of technology for indigenous production of a modern surface fleet. Under the deal, three frigates will be built in Shanghai, and the fourth will be constructed at Karachi dockyard, which will also be upgraded to enable Pakistan to build its own frigates later.
The first frigate is to be delivered to Pakistan next year and the other three by 2013 along with transfer of technology. The frigates will be equipped with helicopters specially designed for surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles along with numerous associated self-defense systems. This was the first time that the two navies reached a high-level collaboration to augment the surface fleet.
The Pakistani opposition parties accuse the government of fudging figures and understating defense-related allocations. They claim that the defense budget is actually far more than the Rs275 billion shown in official documents. The opposition parties call the ever-increasing military allocations without parliamentary oversight unjustified. They stress the need for carrying out an audit of defense expenditures by Parliament to examine whether and how much of the military budget has been used to enhance defense capability.
Syed Fazl-e-Haider, sfazlehaider05@yahoo.com, is a Quetta-based development analyst. He is the author of six books, including The Economic Development of Balochistan, published in May 2004.
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