Pakistan’s ‘affordable’ China-developed jet: a victim of its own success?

At half the price of an F-16, the JF-17 is attracting new buyers that Islamabad may struggle to actually supply

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JF-17 fighter jets of Pakistan’s Air Force perform a fly past near the port city of Karachi in February last year. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:33pm, 3 Feb 2026

Pakistan says it has fielded requests for its JF-17 fighter jet from five countries in recent months – a surge of interest that could overwhelm its capacity to jointly produce the jet with China.

In the past month, Iraq, Bangladesh and Indonesia have expressed interest in acquiring the JF-17 Thunder, according to Pakistan’s Armed Forces.

Saudi Arabia and Libya were also exploring the aircraft, Reuters reported separately, after Pakistan hailed the performance of its Chinese-developed jets during its conflict with India in May 2025.

Pakistan makes fewer than 20 JF-17s per year, and almost all go to its own air force. It is unclear whether Islamabad can expand capacity to meet the sudden demand – key to boosting its ambitions of being an arms maker for the developing world and extending Beijing’s influence in the weapons market.

The JF-17 is seen “as a market disrupter due to its affordable price tag and, more importantly, its recent success in combat”, said Manoj Harjani, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

“Not hard to imagine the JF-17 becoming more widely adopted, especially by militaries that cannot afford fighters produced by Western companies.”

Pakistan’s ‘affordable’ China-developed jet: a victim of its own success?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}At half the price of an F-16, the JF-17 is attracting new buyers that Islamabad may struggle to actually supply

At half the price of an F-16, the JF-17 is attracting new buyers that Islamabad may struggle to actually supply