Revealed: Why Sri Lanka Backed Off the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder

[$@rJen]

Revealed: Why Sri Lanka Backed Off the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder
Published January 14, 2016
SOURCE: NDTV

As Benjamin Baker wrote last week in The Diplomat, the JF-17 Thunder, a low-cost multi-role fighter built collaboratively by China and Pakistan, has run into some problems on the global fighter market. Recently, every time it appears to have locked down a buyer, problem crop up. Malaysia became the latest supposed buyer of the JF-17 to come out publicly and say that there was no finalized deal. Despite being competitively priced, the JF-17 has proved to be a tough sell for Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, the joint manufacturers of the fighter.

The case of Sri Lanka is the latest curious case of a prospective JF-17 buyer backing down. As Franz-Stefan Gady reported recently, Colombo was expected to sign a multi-million dollar deal to purchas 8 to 12 units of the JF-17 during Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s state visit there last week. Despite a range of announced deals, a JF-17 purchase was not announced during Sharif’s time in Colombo.

Shortly after Sharif’s visit, Sri Lanka’s minister of defense, Karunasena Hettiarachchi, denied that the JF-17 was even discussed. “The matter did not even come up for discussion during the talks [with the Pakistani government],” he said, according to The Colombo Gazette. He added that “if there arises a requirement for Sri Lanka to procure aircraft of this nature, in keeping with the policy of the Government of Sri Lanka to maintain transparency, expressions of interest will be called for, from all concerned.”

However, mere days after the deal was reported, sources claimed that the deal had been cancelled. The reason for the cancellation of the deal is revealing of current diplomatic dynamics in South Asia. According to TheIndian Express, the Sri Lankan government, led by President Maithripala Sirisena, canceled its plans to purchase the JF-17s after a “diplomatic missive” from New Delhi suggesting that Colombo should refrain from adding these aircraft to its fleet.

The report adds that New Delhi included a negative technical assessment of the JF-17 and “pointed out that [Sri Lanka’s] defense requirements did not need fighters.” According to the report, the Indian government delivered a “non-paper”–described as a “white sheet of paper without a letterhead of signature”–to the Sri Lankan government weeks ahead of Sharif’s planned visit.

If true, Sri Lanka’s decision to hold back on the purchase of JF-17 fighters demonstrates that the Sirisena-led government in Colombo is far more deferential to Indian interests than its predecessor was. Under Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former Sri Lankan president, the country tilted considerably toward China. After his surprise election victory last January, Sirisena signaled an intent to balance Sri Lanka’s foreign policy by visiting New Delhi before Beijing.

It doesn’t appear that India is planning on offering Sri Lanka a substitute for the JF-17. New Delhi’s suggestion that Sri Lanka does not require multi-role fighters for its defense needs suggests that it does not plan to do so in the future. (The closest Indian analog, in terms of cost-per-unit, is the HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, but its feature-set is very different from what the JF-17 offers.)

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Export Sales Reported for Sino-Pakistan JF-17 Combat Jet

by Chris Pocock
January 13, 2016, 12:49 PM

Further exports of the Sino-Pakistan JF-17 “Thunder” combat aircraft have been reported, following an initial sale last year, which is now known to be 16 aircraft for Myanmar. According to Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain, Azerbaijan and Nigeria are both interested. But a proposed sale to Sri Lanka has been opposed by India, according to unconfirmed reports.

A Nigerian newspaper reported that the country’s 2016 defense budget includes funds for the acquisition of three JF-17s, as well as 10 Super Mushshak basic trainers that are also produced by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). The JF-17 is a joint project between PAC and the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation. The Nigerian air force currently flies Chengdu F-7 fighters and uses armed Alpha Jet trainers in operations against domestic insurgents, as well as Mi-17SH, Mi-24V and Mi-35P attack helicopters. But a senior NAF officer told The Fighter Conference organized by Defence IQ in London last November that the service wants to replace the Alpha Jets soon.

Speculation that the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) would become a customer was prompted by a visit to Pakistan last November by the SLAF commander, followed by a trip to Sri Lanka by the Pakistani prime minister early this month, when the deal was expected to be sealed. But according to India’s Sunday Express newspaper, Sri Lanka’s plan to buy eight to 12 JF-17s was strongly opposed by India. The SLAF currently operates Chengdu F-7s, as well as IAI Kfir and MiG-27 jet fighters.

All JF-17s are assembled in Pakistan, but China retains around 40 percent of the total workshare. After initially receiving 50 Block 1 versions, the Pakistan air force is taking delivery of 50 Block 2s. A Block 3 version with a new radar and internal targeting pod is planned, and a two-seat version is due to fly in China late this year.

Source: Pakistan Air Force | News & Discussions. | Page 158

 

[Tshering22]

But there must be some trade-off we would offer even if we didn't advise them to turn down the purchase.

Like maybe Akash SAMs, rapid action patrol boats, helicopters or assault cruisers.

In fact, the Chinese are superbly smart that way. Instead of matching USA carrier-to-carrier, they simply developed the anti-carrier missiles. Even if 90% of them are intercepted midway, the 10% entering the radius will destroy the intended target and its other accompanying ships. For less than half the money of a carrier.

I am currently researching on the whole 'tension' that the west calls, in Sri Lanka. Ironically it was created by the west in first place and neither by Lankans nor by Tamil people historically.

If it is feasible, we'd love to created a joint body that can have combined Indian-Lankan military command structure where our weapons are usable interchangeably.

That is the level of confidence we need to share between Nepal, Sri Lanka, India and Bhutan.

The onus is as much on the leadership of these countries as it is on us.

 

[Mabs]

Revealed: Why Sri Lanka Backed Off the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder
Published January 14, 2016
SOURCE: NDTV

As Benjamin Baker wrote last week in The Diplomat, the JF-17 Thunder, a low-cost multi-role fighter built collaboratively by China and Pakistan, has run into some problems on the global fighter market. Recently, every time it appears to have locked down a buyer, problem crop up. Malaysia became the latest supposed buyer of the JF-17 to come out publicly and say that there was no finalized deal. Despite being competitively priced, the JF-17 has proved to be a tough sell for Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, the joint manufacturers of the fighter.

The case of Sri Lanka is the latest curious case of a prospective JF-17 buyer backing down. As Franz-Stefan Gady reported recently, Colombo was expected to sign a multi-million dollar deal to purchas 8 to 12 units of the JF-17 during Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s state visit there last week. Despite a range of announced deals, a JF-17 purchase was not announced during Sharif’s time in Colombo.

Shortly after Sharif’s visit, Sri Lanka’s minister of defense, Karunasena Hettiarachchi, denied that the JF-17 was even discussed. “The matter did not even come up for discussion during the talks [with the Pakistani government],” he said, according to The Colombo Gazette. He added that “if there arises a requirement for Sri Lanka to procure aircraft of this nature, in keeping with the policy of the Government of Sri Lanka to maintain transparency, expressions of interest will be called for, from all concerned.”

However, mere days after the deal was reported, sources claimed that the deal had been cancelled. The reason for the cancellation of the deal is revealing of current diplomatic dynamics in South Asia. According to TheIndian Express, the Sri Lankan government, led by President Maithripala Sirisena, canceled its plans to purchase the JF-17s after a “diplomatic missive” from New Delhi suggesting that Colombo should refrain from adding these aircraft to its fleet.

The report adds that New Delhi included a negative technical assessment of the JF-17 and “pointed out that [Sri Lanka’s] defense requirements did not need fighters.” According to the report, the Indian government delivered a “non-paper”–described as a “white sheet of paper without a letterhead of signature”–to the Sri Lankan government weeks ahead of Sharif’s planned visit.

If true, Sri Lanka’s decision to hold back on the purchase of JF-17 fighters demonstrates that the Sirisena-led government in Colombo is far more deferential to Indian interests than its predecessor was. Under Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former Sri Lankan president, the country tilted considerably toward China. After his surprise election victory last January, Sirisena signaled an intent to balance Sri Lanka’s foreign policy by visiting New Delhi before Beijing.

It doesn’t appear that India is planning on offering Sri Lanka a substitute for the JF-17. New Delhi’s suggestion that Sri Lanka does not require multi-role fighters for its defense needs suggests that it does not plan to do so in the future. (The closest Indian analog, in terms of cost-per-unit, is the HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, but its feature-set is very different from what the JF-17 offers.)

And I here I was thinking that India and Indians don't give two hoots about Pakistan and what it does. I thought it was a disgrace to be even compared to and compete with Pakistan.

As so many Indians have said it so many times 'Nobody in India cares about Pakistan'. Yes, nobody except good for nothing Indian government. Get well soon neighbors.

 

[Cool_Soldier]

Game is changed time being.It will be back on table in near future.

 

[$@rJen]

And I here I was thinking that India and Indians don't give two hoots about Pakistan and what it does

well you're poorly informed

 

[Mabs]

well you're poorly informed

Take it up with your ilk who talk as if Indians are Martians and everyone else dumbwits.

 

[$@rJen]

Take it up with your ilk who talk as if Indians are Martians and everyone else dumbwits.

why , you can't do that????

First stop acting childish, this is how stuff works in a International arena, if you can't hadle it then poor your foreign policy and diplomacy

 

[Paksanity]

New Delhi included a negative technical assessment of the JF-17 and “pointed out that [Sri Lanka’s] defense requirements did not need fighters.”

India wants to be the judge of Sri Lankan defence requirements? Wow...just wow! @Gibbs

 

[Mabs]

why , you can't do that????

First stop acting childish, this is how stuff works in a International arena, if you can't hadle it then poor your foreign policy and diplomacy

Why in the world would I spend time enlightening people who pounce on the slightest opportunity of belittling Pakistan? I don't wish you harm but I don't have to stick my neck out for you either. I'd let you bask in your ignorance.

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

Whether Sri Lanka or any other country buys the JF-17 or not is irrelevant. The point is that as with our nuclear weapons capability, this saga has demonstrated that Pakistan has the capability to produce a worthy and technologically good fighter jet even when the rest of the world said that this would never be possible even with foreign assistance. This lends credence to the fact that eventually Pakistan will be able to produce good advanced fighter jets of international quality and standard, indigenously. Pakistan is moving in this direction and we need to make sure we stay the course as we did with our nuclear weapons program.

 

[abdulbarijan]

I've seen your other thread as well ... which also caters to this deal .... I invite members to visit that thread as well, as it may clear up why this deal did not go through ... Following is the link ..

India may transfer some Migs to Srilanka: Source

Add in the fact that reports were floated regarding threats of blocking the aid from India to Srilanka. Although blackmail, but for the heck of it ... thats some clever way to block a sale ... threats followed by an offer for a reward of free of cost additional aircrafts (mig-27's) ... From the perspective of Srilanka, they don't have to spend anything right now, and get a number of Mig-27's which are already in service with the SLAF albeit only 6 in number while the rest were either destroyed/crashed, additionally, this doesn't threaten the supply of aid from India ... so It's a win-win for Srilanka in the short term ...

What would be concerning for Srilanka would be if these fighter jets started to crash because --- lets face it, not only are these jets towards the end of their life cycle, but they also have a history of crashes, add in the fact that except Srilanka only 4 nations operate the -27, two of which have already retired the platform while India being the third in line to follow with the phasing out of this aircraft....Already, the fleet of Mig-27's of SLAF is very small ( 6 in total/ originally 10 were purchased from Ukraine) the question would be ... How much units of Mig-27's is India providing to the SLAF ... and if push comes to shove with the crash issue, Is India willing to have free of cost transactions post this deal to block another potential JFT deal ... and would Srilanka accept such an arrangement ?

MiG-27 in Indian Air Force Service
Here's a list of IAF accidents that took place in the last one year | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis
Indian Air Force lost 30 fighter aircraft, 10 choppers in three years

With all the talk of LCA, Suppose if India offers LCA for Srilanka ... what would be the reaction of SLAF ... will it be willing to induct a platform which is declared to have not met the ASR of the airforce it was specifically designed for ? -- With all the cost overruns, what would be the price of the Tejas if offered for export, keeping in mind that the production process has only just begun with the LSP series ... so an economies of scale is very unlikely ..add in the fact that complications may occur with some important components coming from other nations like the General Electric engine from the US...

Keeping in mind all the points, the SLAF would still be a potential customer in the near future even after this because the Mig-27 offset that India went with is only a stopgap measure ... In the future the SLAF will have to look at newer fighter jets which are acceptable performance wise AND cost effective ... JF-17 would then again, become the part of the consideration set ...

 

[KingRaj]

I will just post what I said in other thread:

India will never allow any sale of major defence equipment by Pakistan to India's neighbours(excluding China but obviously China will never buy from Pakistan).
Only reason India allowed sale of K-8s and MBT-2000s to Myanmar and Bangladesh is because they were manufactured and exported by China with no Pakistani involvement in the deals.
Pakistan is not even involved in the maintenance of these systems in those two nations.

The reason India is opposed to such deals is because Pakistani exports could lead permanent basing of Pakistanis in these nations for maintenance and training etc.

 

[chhota bheem]

And I here I was thinking that India and Indians don't give two hoots about Pakistan and what it does. I thought it was a disgrace to be even compared to and compete with Pakistan.

As so many Indians have said it so many times 'Nobody in India cares about Pakistan'. Yes, nobody except good for nothing Indian government. Get well soon neighbors.

If you have noticed India did not give two hoots about what Pakistan,we did not ask Pakistan to sell the planes to SL,but we asked SL not to buy the plane.
Anyway they can get much better planes than this one and if SL is threatened by some one they have the whole IAF behind them.

And I here I was thinking that India and Indians don't give two hoots about Pakistan and what it does. I thought it was a disgrace to be even compared to and compete with Pakistan.

As so many Indians have said it so many times 'Nobody in India cares about Pakistan'. Yes, nobody except good for nothing Indian government. Get well soon neighbors.

If you have noticed India did not give two hoots about what Pakistan,we did not ask Pakistan to sell the planes to SL,but we asked SL not to buy the plane.
Anyway they can get much better planes than this one and if SL is threatened by some one they have the whole IAF behind them.

 

[Bilal Khan 777]

I will just post what I said in other thread:

India will never allow any sale of major defence equipment by Pakistan to India's neighbours(excluding China but obviously China will never buy from Pakistan).
Only reason India allowed sale of K-8s and MBT-2000s to Myanmar and Bangladesh is because they were manufactured and exported by China with no Pakistani involvement in the deals.
Pakistan is not even involved in the maintenance of these systems in those two nations.

The reason India is opposed to such deals is because Pakistani exports could lead permanent basing of Pakistanis in these nations for maintenance and training etc.

India "will never allow..." that is just load of horse manure rubbish and arrogance.