Featured Project Azm: Pakistan's Ambitious Quest to Develop 5th Generation Military Technologies.

[Foxtrot Delta]

The thing that annoys me is Why did you put PAFA insignia in the picture.What's it got to do with FGFA,you should have put PAC insignia.No?

i didn't put anything in there. this is Pakistan air force conceptiual finalization of AZM project one of the steps. apprently that's how pakistan'z fgf will look like. it has nothing to do with china.

 

[Trango Towers]

8

India has all the help they can get but still they are not able to build a decent plane. On Majority of their projects, they took help from several western countries.

We may have the skills and will power but building a aircraft is not like flying a kite.
We do need help and babysitting. If we knew everything, we would not be depending on China. Question we should be asking is what percentage of block3 is being build without the support of China.

Firstly we are not india.
2ndly we are nit india.
And our engineers must have the ability other wise PAF who know more than u and me wouldnt say they dont need help.
Some aspects will take time for sure. Like engines. But we are nothing like india and jf17 and other projects are a testament to our abilities and blessing of the Almighty

 

[Windjammer]

Project Azm: Pakistan’s 5th Generation Fighter Plane
1
BY FAIZAN KHAN ON OCTOBER 30, 2019WORLD NEWS


The air forces of different countries have been evolving constantly with time. To compete with the air power of the world and to strengthen the defense system of itself, Pakistan is on its way to developing its 5th generation fighter plane in Project Azm.

Well, it sounds cool and interesting but let us dive into it and see what is Project Azm and its objectives that you won’t find on Wikipedia.

What is Project Azm?
Project Azm was announced in July 2017 with many important initiatives including the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Medium Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) and manufacturing of other weapon systems. Kamra Aviation City is also a big part of this project.

So it is focused on multiple innovative aviation projects which will not only revolutionize the air defense of Pakistan.

The Project Azm design will not only strengthen the ability of PAF dogfight but will also grow Pakistan’s defense exports exponentially. The neighboring country “India” has already praised the defense equipment production capability of Pakistan. General Sarath Chand (Former Vice Chief of Indian Army) admitted that Pakistan is way forward than India in defense production as they export their weapons and airplanes to other countries which is where India is lacking right now.

Project Azm Impact on Pakistan’s Economy
This military project has so much potential in it that it can transform Pakistan’s economy into a major one in the world. The development of advanced military aircraft will open new doors to the existing industries of the country. With the help of ongoing research on the project, there will be opportunities for new business fields and jobs.

This project will support numerous professional fields directly such as avionics, electronics, software engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and aerospace engineering. Some fields will also be supported by this project indirectly including material sciences, civil engineering, and architecture.

Pakistan’s 5th Generation Fighter Plane Program
As you may already know, Pakistan has also succeeded in launching a fourth-generation fighter plane program. Very few countries have done that and Pakistan is among one of them. The most beautiful wonder of that program was JF-17 Thunder that Pakistan developed with the help of China.

It was a big achievement for Pakistan to successfully run the 4th Generation Fighter Plane Program in collaboration with China even when the big economies like India and Israel had to shut their program down. Although some of the major parts of the aircraft still need to import, Pakistan has been cruising in manufacturing JF Thunder-17 and even exporting it to other countries. Due to the huge success of the previous program, Pakistan’s military scientists have motivated themselves to achieve even bigger success on the platform of 5th Generation Fighter Airplanes.

What’s New in 5th Generation Fighter Aircrafts?
Following the footprints of the previous project, Pakistan is focused to develop even more lightweight and cost-efficient new aircraft like JF-17. It is also a major objective to design such aircraft that can carry heavier payloads and have more range than JF-17. Looks like it will be way better than HAL AMCA.

The design and development phase will take a huge amount of investment. It is indeed a very difficult task for a country that has a GDP of just $307 billion. National Interest reports that the new JF-17 Block 3 will have a cost of around $32 million each. The United States of America, Russia and China are the only countries that have gained success in the development of Fifth Generation Fighter Airplanes.

Pakistan ambitions are worth to be praised as it is taking giant leaps along with the developed nations for the technological advancements. We shouldn’t forget the contribution of China to this project. It has always given technical assistance to Pakistan whenever there is a need. Pakistan has likely chosen Chengdu as a partner in the AZM project.

Pakistan’s Defence Collaboration With Turkey
In recent times, Pakistan has grown strong ties with Turkey and has made several defense collaborations to encourage mutual relations between the two countries. Turkey sees Pakistan as their prospective partners in Turkey’s next-generation stealth airplane development program i.e. TFX.

No country can rely on importing weapons and defense systems from other countries for a long time (as F-16 and other aircraft are imported from other military giants). Pakistan is also moving closer to self reliability of weapon production to build up strong defense systems with the help of its strategic partners like Turkey and China.

Project Azm Progress (Latest Updates – 2019)
Despite the economic difficulties, Pakistan is on its way to building a strong military through Project Azm by PAF and FGFA. Since there have been several restrictions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to excessive debts, the progress is a bit slower than expected.

There has been a paper released recently by the Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) in which the prioritization of the military products is described thoroughly.

• Designing and Development of Auxiliary Power Units for Al-Zarrar Tank
• Development of Thermal Vision (Night Vision) Goggles
• Upgradation of Type-59 tan.comks to Al-Zarrar
• Development of Al-Zarrar II

 

[Trango Towers]

Project Azm: Pakistan’s 5th Generation Fighter Plane
1
BY FAIZAN KHAN ON OCTOBER 30, 2019WORLD NEWS


The air forces of different countries have been evolving constantly with time. To compete with the air power of the world and to strengthen the defense system of itself, Pakistan is on its way to developing its 5th generation fighter plane in Project Azm.

Well, it sounds cool and interesting but let us dive into it and see what is Project Azm and its objectives that you won’t find on Wikipedia.

What is Project Azm?
Project Azm was announced in July 2017 with many important initiatives including the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Medium Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) and manufacturing of other weapon systems. Kamra Aviation City is also a big part of this project.

So it is focused on multiple innovative aviation projects which will not only revolutionize the air defense of Pakistan.

The Project Azm design will not only strengthen the ability of PAF dogfight but will also grow Pakistan’s defense exports exponentially. The neighboring country “India” has already praised the defense equipment production capability of Pakistan. General Sarath Chand (Former Vice Chief of Indian Army) admitted that Pakistan is way forward than India in defense production as they export their weapons and airplanes to other countries which is where India is lacking right now.

Project Azm Impact on Pakistan’s Economy
This military project has so much potential in it that it can transform Pakistan’s economy into a major one in the world. The development of advanced military aircraft will open new doors to the existing industries of the country. With the help of ongoing research on the project, there will be opportunities for new business fields and jobs.

This project will support numerous professional fields directly such as avionics, electronics, software engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and aerospace engineering. Some fields will also be supported by this project indirectly including material sciences, civil engineering, and architecture.

Pakistan’s 5th Generation Fighter Plane Program
As you may already know, Pakistan has also succeeded in launching a fourth-generation fighter plane program. Very few countries have done that and Pakistan is among one of them. The most beautiful wonder of that program was JF-17 Thunder that Pakistan developed with the help of China.

It was a big achievement for Pakistan to successfully run the 4th Generation Fighter Plane Program in collaboration with China even when the big economies like India and Israel had to shut their program down. Although some of the major parts of the aircraft still need to import, Pakistan has been cruising in manufacturing JF Thunder-17 and even exporting it to other countries. Due to the huge success of the previous program, Pakistan’s military scientists have motivated themselves to achieve even bigger success on the platform of 5th Generation Fighter Airplanes.

What’s New in 5th Generation Fighter Aircrafts?
Following the footprints of the previous project, Pakistan is focused to develop even more lightweight and cost-efficient new aircraft like JF-17. It is also a major objective to design such aircraft that can carry heavier payloads and have more range than JF-17. Looks like it will be way better than HAL AMCA.

The design and development phase will take a huge amount of investment. It is indeed a very difficult task for a country that has a GDP of just $307 billion. National Interest reports that the new JF-17 Block 3 will have a cost of around $32 million each. The United States of America, Russia and China are the only countries that have gained success in the development of Fifth Generation Fighter Airplanes.

Pakistan ambitions are worth to be praised as it is taking giant leaps along with the developed nations for the technological advancements. We shouldn’t forget the contribution of China to this project. It has always given technical assistance to Pakistan whenever there is a need. Pakistan has likely chosen Chengdu as a partner in the AZM project.

Pakistan’s Defence Collaboration With Turkey
In recent times, Pakistan has grown strong ties with Turkey and has made several defense collaborations to encourage mutual relations between the two countries. Turkey sees Pakistan as their prospective partners in Turkey’s next-generation stealth airplane development program i.e. TFX.

No country can rely on importing weapons and defense systems from other countries for a long time (as F-16 and other aircraft are imported from other military giants). Pakistan is also moving closer to self reliability of weapon production to build up strong defense systems with the help of its strategic partners like Turkey and China.

Project Azm Progress (Latest Updates – 2019)
Despite the economic difficulties, Pakistan is on its way to building a strong military through Project Azm by PAF and FGFA. Since there have been several restrictions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to excessive debts, the progress is a bit slower than expected.

There has been a paper released recently by the Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) in which the prioritization of the military products is described thoroughly.

• Designing and Development of Auxiliary Power Units for Al-Zarrar Tank
• Development of Thermal Vision (Night Vision) Goggles
• Upgradation of Type-59 tan.comks to Al-Zarrar
• Development of Al-Zarrar II

No info in the article.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Some aspects will take time for sure. Like engines. But we are nothing like india and jf17 and other projects are a testament to our abilities and blessing of the Almighty

Some folks have no clues about Rahmet, Bereket etc.!!! A single act of Hosh Amal, done with Iman, Ihlas, Uhuvvet etc., has a thousand Bereket bestowed on it...

 

[Deino]

I hope You don't mind a eventually off-topic question, but I was asked by a friend if I could tell him something about another project besides "AZM" called Project "Abadil".

Any help or explanation is highly appreciated.

 

[Ahmet Pasha]

You're likely talking about Ababil not abadil.
This might be the MALE UAV project. Others might have more info tho.

I hope You don't mind a eventually off-topic question, but I was asked by a friend if I could tell him something about another project besides "AZM" called Project "Abadil".

Any help or explanation is highly appreciated.

 

[Deino]

You're likely talking about Ababil not abadil.
This might be the MALE UAV project. Others might have more info tho.

Hmm ... could be? So Abadil is the MALE UAV part of the overall project AZM?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Ahmet Pasha]

Ababeel not abadil

Hmm ... could be? So Abadil is the MALE UAV part of the overall project AZM?

Thanks a lot.

 

[HRK]

I hope You don't mind a eventually off-topic question, but I was asked by a friend if I could tell him something about another project besides "AZM" called Project "Abadil".

Any help or explanation is highly appreciated.

Project Azm is not just a single product based project which aim to develop only 5th gen fighter jet, but UAV/UCAV, liking of academia and industry, initiation of high tech aviation and aerospace research and creation of Aviation City all of these are the part of Project AZM.... over all it is more related to building aerospace institutions and complete ecosystem for aviation sector ......

As of now there no official name is announced to any intended product under this project, so any of the name fly around in different defence forums are unofficial names given by fanboys

BTW UAV under project Azm was suppose enter flight testing stage till the end of this year but as we are in Nov it seem UAV is delayed .... though I hope that I am wrong

 

[cabatli_53]

Pakistan’s Defence Collaboration With Turkey
In recent times, Pakistan has grown strong ties with Turkey and has made several defense collaborations to encourage mutual relations between the two countries. Turkey sees Pakistan as their prospective partners in Turkey’s next-generation stealth airplane development program i.e. TFX.

SSB Ismail Demir: We are in serious level negotiations with three countries in regard to partnership for TF-X MMU but the name of countries will not be shared in that phase.

Besides, Turkish Industry Minister and Malaysian Defense minister discussed about joint Turk-Malaysian defense induatry projects today. Malaysia and Turkey is planning to sign a cooperation deal for Air, Naval and Land vehicles in Kuala Lumpur.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1192089511334952960

 

[ziaulislam]

None of these countries can do it. Turkey is trying for 15 years and is yet to have an inductable one. Turkey has enough experience and expertise in production. Development is something else.

It's sad that those who speak the truth are simply buried in feel good posts.

Noone belives pakistan can do it alone..point was can we build pc-7. We already do

 

[dBSPL]

None of these countries can do it. Turkey is trying for 15 years and is yet to have an inductable one. Turkey has enough experience and expertise in production. Development is something else.

It's sad that those who speak the truth are simply buried in feel good posts.

15 December 2010 Defense Industry Executive Board (SSIK) -
Start of contract negotiations with TAI for TFX conceptual Design Project.

Phase 0 - Conceptual Design Period 2011 - 2014
29 September 2011 SSIK: Signing of the TFX conceptual design contract. Determination of requirements and conceptualization phase. The state contribution is about $ 20 million.

2012 - Undersecretariat for defense industry ( now SSB ) agreed with SAAB for Technical Support and Assistance Provider (TSAP).

September 2013 - Different design alternatives for TFX identified; the operational concept was defined and the general requirements were shaped.

2014 - Conceptual design phase completed with a delay of 4 months.

2014 - Request for proposal document sent to Engine companies. (EuroJet, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Rosoboronexport and Snecma)

2015 - A Request for proposal document for the 'Foreign Cooperation Company' within the scope of preparations for the Preliminary Design Period has been released. (Saab, BAE Systems, Airbus, CASIC, Aermacchi and Sierra Nevada Corporation)

Phase-1 Stage-1 / 05 August 2016 - Signing of the Articles of Association with contractors and official implementation of the project.

January 28, 2017 - Head of Agreement was signed with BAE Systems within the scope of TF-X Development Programme Engineering Development & Preliminary Design Phase, which covers the design, development, production, test and certification studies of MMU/TFX prototypes. The cooperation came into force in August 2017. The deal's value $ 156 million.

2017 - Engine negotiations started with Rolls Royce.
2017 - Inter-state cooperation agreement was signed, between UK and Turkey. UK Department for International Trade brought an Open General Export License (OGEL) into effect on July 28, 2017.

July 2018 - An agreement was signed between BAE and TAI on risk reduction of project.

2018 - Wind tests started in England. (Turkey's new test site was under construction at that time.)

July 1, 2019 - Mock-up exhibited at the Paris Air Show. (The final geometry is complete and system integration will proceed through this geometry.)

March 2018 - New block High Performance Computing System (10.000-core computer) installation completed.

April 2018 - Dassault Systemes and TAI sign a cooperation agreement on software support. ( 3DEXPERIENCE platform)

May 2018 - The design phase of the TFX project was included in the Project Based Incentive System, with approximately $ 1 billion.

2018 - Negotiations with many subsystem manufacturers, especially Leonardo, started under ToT preconditions.

April 2018 - A preliminary agreement was signed between TAI and ASELSAN for some avionics packages of TFX Project , such as indigenous AESA radar, EW suites and electro-optical (IRIST) systems

2018 - Collaboration agreements of technical universities started to be signed. A guest engineer program was prepared.

August 2, 2018 - state support of approximately $ 1.2 billion was announced. In addition, VAT refund, tax deduction, interest support will be provided; half of the energy consumption expenditures will be covered by the state state.

Within the same scope, the project was legally secured for 15 years.

November 2018 - SSB and TRMOTOR have signed the next generation Indigenous Engine Development Program Framework Agreement for TFX.

November 2018 - General Electric F110-GE engine has been decided to be used in prototypes. (total 7 aircraft)

Phase-1 Stage-2 / 2020/2021 - Completion of preliminary design phase and transition to detail design phase. At the end of the preliminary design phase, a continuous transition is envisaged for the following periods and phases of the Project.

--------------------------------

2023 - According to the schedule, the Roll-Out Ceremony will be held and ground tests will be started.

2025 - Realization of the first flight.

2028 - Completion of prototype and qualification phase - Initiation of Air Force Command tests. Starting the IOC phase for TFX version 1.

2031 - Beginning of FOC phase

--------------------------------

"Scheduled Engineering Development & Preliminary Design Phase is expected to cost around US$1.3 Billion and to be followed by 8-year scheduled Critical Design Review and Prototype Production and Qualification Phases, which planned to cost around US$7.3 Billion. At the end of 12-year and US$8.6 Billion expenses seven flying TF-X prototypes will be manufactured for the test, evaluation and qualification purposes. Another US$14 billion is earmarked for the serial production of the TF-X fighters, bringing the total budget for the project to US$20 billion." (Taken from the Ibrahim Sunnetci's article which is published at Defence Turkey's 83rd issue.)

 

[jupiter2007]

SSB Ismail Demir: We are in serious level negotiations with three countries in regard to partnership for TF-X MMU but the name of countries will not be shared in that phase.

Besides, Turkish Industry Minister and Malaysian Defense minister discussed about joint Turk-Malaysian defense induatry projects today. Malaysia and Turkey is planning to sign a cooperation deal for Air, Naval and Land vehicles in Kuala Lumpur.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1192089511334952960

Pakistan might be considering joining TF-X project but Pakistan will need something for stop gap purpose until TF-X goes into production by 2031.

IMHO, 10+ years is a long time without a advance 4.5+ generation medium weight fighter. JF-17 block 3 4th generation light weight fighter will be able to replace older F-7s and Mirage but we need something else to counter Rafale.

 

[KapitaanAli]

15 December 2010 Defense Industry Executive Board (SSIK) -
Start of contract negotiations with TAI for TFX conceptual Design Project. (Feasibility phase)

Phase 0 - Conceptual Design Period 2011 - 2014
29 September 2011 SSIK: Signing of the TFX conceptual design contract. Determination of requirements and conceptualization phase. The state contribution is about $ 20 million.

2012 - Conceptual Design Period started

2012 - Undersecretariat for defense industry ( now SSB ) agreed with SAAB for Technical Support and Assistance Provider (TSAP).

September 2013 - Different design alternatives for TFX identified; the operational concept was defined and the general requirements were shaped.

2014 - Conceptual design phase completed with a delay of 4 months.

2014 - Request for proposal document sent to Engine companies. (EuroJet, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Rosoboronexport and Snecma)

2015 - A Request for proposal document for the 'Foreign Cooperation Company' within the scope of preparations for the Preliminary Design Period has been released. (Saab, BAE Systems, Airbus, CASIC, Aermacchi and Sierra Nevada Corporation)

Phase-1 Stage-1 / 05 August 2016 - Signing of the Articles of Association with contractors and official implementation of the project.

January 28, 2017 - Head of Agreement was signed with BAE Systems within the scope of TF-X Development Programme Engineering Development & Preliminary Design Phase, which covers the design, development, production, test and certification studies of MMU/TFX prototypes. The cooperation came into force in August 2017. The deal's value $ 156 million.

2017 - Engine negotiations started with Rolls Royce.
2017 - Inter-state cooperation agreement was signed, between UK and Turkey. UK Department for International Trade brought an Open General Export License (OGEL) into effect on July 28, 2017.

July 2018 - An agreement was signed between BAE and TAI on risk reduction of project.

2018 - Wind tests started in England. (Turkey's new test site was under construction at that time.)

July 1, 2019 - Mock-up exhibited at the Paris Air Show. (The final geometry is complete and system integration will proceed through this geometry.)

March 2018 - New block High Performance Computing System (10.000-core computer) installation completed.

April 2018 - Dassault Systemes and TAI sign a cooperation agreement on software support. ( 3DEXPERIENCE platform)

May 2018 - The design phase of the TFX project was included in the Project Based Incentive System, with approximately $ 1 billion.

2018 - Negotiations with many subsystem manufacturers, especially Leonardo, started under ToT preconditions.

April 2018 - A preliminary agreement was signed between TAI and ASELSAN for some avionics packages of TFX Project , such as indigenous AESA radar, EW suites and electro-optical (IRIST) systems

2018 - Collaboration agreements of technical universities started to be signed. A guest engineer program was prepared.

August 2, 2018 - state support of approximately $ 1.2 billion was announced. In addition, VAT refund, tax deduction, interest support will be provided; half of the energy consumption expenditures will be covered by the state state.

Within the same scope, the project was legally secured for 15 years.

November 2018 - SSB and TRMOTOR have signed the next generation Indigenous Engine Development Program Framework Agreement for TFX.

November 2018 - General Electric F110-GE engine has been decided to be used in prototypes. (total 7 aircraft)

Phase-1 Stage-2 / 2020/2021 - Completion of preliminary design phase and transition to detail design phase. At the end of the preliminary design phase, a continuous transition is envisaged for the following periods and phases of the Project.

--------------------------------

2023 - According to the schedule, the Roll-Out Ceremony will be held and ground tests will be started.

2025 - Realization of the first flight.

2028 - Completion of prototype and qualification phase - Initiation of Air Force Command tests. Starting the IOC phase for TFX version 1.

2031 - Beginning of FOC phase

--------------------------------

"Scheduled Engineering Development & Preliminary Design Phase is expected to cost around US$1.3 Billion and to be followed by 8-year scheduled Critical Design Review and Prototype Production and Qualification Phases, which planned to cost around US$7.3 Billion. At the end of 12-year and US$8.6 Billion expenses seven flying TF-X prototypes will be manufactured for the test, evaluation and qualification purposes. Another US$14 billion is earmarked for the serial production of the TF-X fighters, bringing the total budget for the project to US$20 billion." (Taken from the Ibrahim Sunnetci's article which is published at Defence Turkey's 83rd issue.)

I wasn't talking about TF-X. He said PC7 and thus I was talking about Hürkuş. That project is 15 years old and very extensive. Turkey is on the right path, no question about that. But still too early.