Pakistan’s growing defence industry looks to export
While Pakistan has yet to break into exports, the extent to which domestic producers are supplying the country’s armed forces is far greater than previously thought, writes Farhan Bokhari
Pakistan’s biennial International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) ended in Karachi on 4 December without a longed-for major arms export order to give its emerging arms industry a lift.
On display were items such as the JF-17 Thunder fighter, Al-Khalid and Al-Zarrar main battle tanks and a variety of small- to mid-sized domestically produced defence systems. For years officials have hoped a major export order for one of these would put the country on the list of the world’s emerging arms exporters.
There are small rays of hope, however. Senior Pakistani officials at IDEAS told IHS Jane’s that Nigeria was due to finalise plans to buy 15 to 30 units of the Sino-Pakistani manufactured JF-17 in what would be the fighter’s first export.
“The JF-17 is a very capable and a very affordable aircraft,” Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, chief of staff of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), told IHS Jane’s . “A good plane costs USD100 million these days. This costs much less.”
However, while the country is still waiting to break into the big ticket defence export market, senior Pakistani officials have revealed previously unannounced details illustrating the extent to which domestic producers supply equipment to the country’s armed forces.
“We have substituted imported defence equipment worth USD1.5 billion, which for us is a huge bonus,” said one senior government official. “That is a lot of savings on foreign exchange.”
The locally built materiel, according to the official, includes kit worth around USD1 billion from the PAF-run Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) at Kamra, north of Islamabad, and another USD500 million worth of supplies from other production facilities that meet the needs of the army and navy.
‘We have substituted imported defence equipment worth USD1.5 billion ... a huge bonus’
The PAC also has facilities to overhaul PAF fighters and is the location where the JF-17 is manufactured. Eventually, the PAF plans to purchase up to 250 JF-17s and use them as its main second-line fighter, backed by a smaller number of more advanced fighters.
Other state-owned defence manufacturers near Islamabad, in Punjab province, include Heavy Industries Taxila, which builds the Al-Khalid and Al-Zarrar tanks along with armoured personnel carriers; and the Pakistan Ordnance Factories, which is the main source of manufacturing for small arms and medium-sized weapon systems for Pakistan’s armed forces.
In Karachi, meanwhile, the Pakistan Navy’s (PN’s) main manufacturing facility, Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works, has been able to expand its technical capabilities following the navy’s purchase of three Agosta 90B submarines from France in the 1990s and four F-22P frigates from China in the past decade.
Nevertheless, while Pakistan has gained self-sufficiency in producing arms for its 500,000-strong armed forces, Western defence officials who attended IDEAS noted that it has yet to significantly step up investments in a sector that is primarily run by the government.
“Pakistan is a large defence spender. If it was to allow the private sector to bring in investments and innovation, I am sure it can make faster progress,” one official noted.
Pakistani officials dispute such suggestions, however, on the grounds that success in areas like manufacturing the JF-17 and tanks for the army would not have been possible without the close involvement of the armed forces. Both of these systems were developed through close co-operation with China.
The decision to produce a fighter with Beijing was taken after Washington imposed sanctions in 1990 under the Pressler amendment, which barred US military transfers to Pakistan on the grounds that Islamabad was working to produce nuclear weapons. Pakistan conducted its first nuclear tests in 1998, just three weeks after India.
While domestic production is important, Pakistan is seeking to fill gaps in key areas through overseas purchases. These include a frontline fighter to counterbalance India’s planned purchase of 126 Dassault Rafales and a PN requirement for more submarines.
IHS Jane’s reported in November that the PAF had begun discussions with China to purchase the Shenyang FC-31 stealth fighter. The PAF subsequently confirmed the report, although officials have not commented on the number of platforms under discussion. IHS Jane’s understands from sources in Pakistan’s defence establishment that Islamabad is seeking to purchase 30 to 40 FC-31s.
At IDEAS senior PN officials confirmed that discussions for the purchase of new submarines from China were continuing, but declined to give further details.
For the moment, Pakistan’s defence planners are primarily focused on the threat from India. While Pakistan’s defence spending is easily overshadowed by India’s much larger spending
– driven mainly by Delhi’s economic progress – Pakistani leaders say domestic defence production is playing a decisive role in maintaining the military balance.
Such thinking was evident in the closing remarks at IDEAS of Rana Tanvir Hussain, Pakistan’s minister of defence production. “We have achieved self-sufficiency in many areas of defence production,” he said. “We cannot lower our guard against the threat from our adversaries.”
Farhan Bokhari is a JDW Correspondent, reporting from Karachi
