New Fighter, Priced to Sell
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Ongoing competition between Boeing and Airbus may have lent the most excitement to this year’s Farnborough International Air Show in England, but China’s expanding air force has also left its mark.
China’s latest fighter jet, the Joint Fighter-17, which is co-produced with Pakistan, was featured at the show. China’s air force is already among the world’s largest, but its technology often lags behind more developed nations, and remains heavily reliant on Russia for furnishing aircraft parts, particularly jet engines (the U.S. government bars its contractors from selling weapons to China).
Reliance on Russia is one of the biggest factors inhibiting China’s air force, said Gary Li, a People’s Liberation Army analyst at the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies, according to China Daily.
“How many aircraft can China produce a year if Russia stops selling its engines to Beijing?” Li said.
Nonetheless, the JF-17 highlights a key aspect of China’s weapons export plan: Develop moderately priced aircrafts to sell to countries too poor — or too politically isolated — to buy American technology. Aircraft sales are the most lucrative part of Beijing’s weapons exports, totaling some $815 million, China Daily reported.
The JF-17 sells for around $15 million, and aviation websites have quoted sources saying China is interested in selling to Sri Lanka, Sudan and Venezuela, among others.
The Associated Press of Pakistan reported that the new jet will in part replace Pakistan’s fleet of Chinese-produced F-7 aircraft. Others have also speculated the JF-17 could replace the aging F-16 in the long-term. That jet, produced by the American firm Lockheed Martin, has been a mainstay in Pakistan’s military alongside Chinese-produced aircraft.
Li said China’s exports are attractive for underpowered militaries since the country offers technological expertise on top of equipment. “The U.S. never sells its latest generation of aircraft,” nor its critical technologies, Li said to China Daily.
In China’s case, weapons exports have been part of spreading its sphere of influence. Pakistan, for example, has long been supplied Chinese military equipment in relationship-building over a shared distrust for India.
– Brian Spegele
China's New Fighter, the JF-17, Priced to Sell - China Real Time Report - WSJ
New Fighter, Priced to Sell - WSJ
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