ISLAMABAD (Reuters): Pakistan is in talks with 13 countries for defense deals involving the sale of JF-17 jets, while six to eight countries are in an advanced stage, international publication, Reuters, said in a report.
It said that Pakistan’s defense manufacturing industry is running red hot since its jets, drones, and missiles earned the coveted ‘combat tested’ tag in a conflict with India last year.
According to Reuters, Islamabad has held talks with 13 countries for deals involving JF-17 jets made jointly with China as well as training aircraft, drones, and weapons systems, said three Pakistani sources who know defense sales.
Pakistan’s military and defense ministry did not provide details on any deals, but the country’s defense production minister confirmed that several countries were interested in jets and other military equipment, it reported.
Analysts believe countries are searching for new supply chains following disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East.
Pakistan’s weapons have become a viable alternative after they were tested in a massive air battle with India in May, in which Pakistan’s air force squadrons flew JF-17s alongside the advanced Chinese-made J-10s.
Reuters spoke to six sources privy to defense deals, three retired air force officials, and a dozen analysts who provided insight into Pakistan’s rising weapons industry, including unreported details of negotiations.
“These talks are taking place (but) they can fall through due to international pressures,” Defense Production Minister Raza Hayat Harraj told Reuters, terming any negotiations “guarded secrets.”
“There are a lot of queries, but we are negotiating,” he said, adding interest had been expressed in air force equipment, ammunition, and training.
Harraj also stressed the price difference between Pakistani jets and weapons and alternatives made in the US and Europe. While some Western options may be more technologically advanced, they cost more than three times as much as an approximately $30 million to $40 million JF-17.
Growing list of buyers
The sources said countries engaged in talks include Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Morocco, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, as well as the government in eastern Libya led by Khalifa Haftar.
Discussions on JF-17s and other weapons with Bangladesh and Iraq have been publicly acknowledged by Pakistan’s military, although more details have not been made public.
Asim Suleiman, a retired Air Marshal who remains briefed on defense sales, said “there are also three African countries lined up” as buyers, which do not include deals with the Libyan National Army and Sudan previously reported by Reuters.
Three defense sources said among the most advanced talks is a wide-ranging arms, defense cooperation, and intelligence-sharing deal with Bangladesh, which gained independence from Pakistan after the 1971 civil war.
The talks include JF-17 Block III multi-role fighter jets, MFI-17 Mushshak aircraft, Pakistani-made drones including the Shahpar reconnaissance and attack UAVs, air defense systems, and Mohafiz mine-resistant armored vehicles, two of the sources said.
Analysts said there were few visible constraints on increasing defense manufacturing, and with backing from Beijing, Pakistan should be able to overcome most hurdles.
‘Pakistan is becoming relevant in defense capacity’
Pakistan “is becoming more relevant as a flexible, mid-tier provider of defense capacity,” said Andreas Krieg, a lecturer at King’s College London’s security studies department.
“It can train forces, provide advisers, run joint exercises, support maritime operations, and offer a menu of cost-effective platforms. For fragile African partners, that combination can be attractive: it is faster than Western capacity-building, less politically encumbered, and often cheaper.”
Siemon Wezeman, a senior arms transfer researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said it was unclear how many reported talks over JF-17 sales would firm into hard deals, adding that Beijing could object to sales to certain clients.
While Pakistan was a natural partner for China to market the aircraft across the Middle East and Africa, “it’s the ones to Sudan and Libya that are really problematic”. Both Libya and Sudan’s Darfur region are subject to U.N. arms embargoes.
Alongside juggling ties with China, Pakistan is navigating Middle East tensions between allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
