JF-17

JF-17

JF-17

China

VIII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
13.3	13.3	13.3

Class:

SQUADRON

Strike aircraft

Research:580 000

Purchase:1 160 000

Show in game

Description

By the 1980s, due to the need for an economic, domestic multirole jet to replace the fleet of F-6 (J-6) in their service, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) issued requirements for a new fighter which would be based on the well-used F-7M Skybolt, an upgrade on CAC's J-7B with Western avionics. Although having the support from Grumman and CAC which came up with a radically revised design with a pair of side intake and revised onboard equipment from Western sources, due to the political complications by the end of Cold War, the Project Sabre II/Super-7 bit the dust after the withdrawal of US companies. Some time near the fall of Soviet Union, CAC seeked Soviet consult where Mikoyan gave assistance in terms of the powerplant of Super-7; with the powerplant problem solved, CATIC seeked Pakistani authorities again for the restart of the program, with conferences between Mainland China and Pakistan during the mid-1990s, the revised aircraft which has to rely on both Mainland China and Pakistani engineers for the avionics and weaponry systems. By 2003, the new FC-1 took its first flight by August and was modernized for 3 more years with revised aerodynamic designs, featuring its most iconic DSI air intake and LERX. After 6 prototypes and 8 years of efforts, the Block 1 aircraft were delivered from March 2007 until 2013 where the Block 2 aircraft replaced the production line.

The JF-17 Thunder, or by its Chinese designation FC-1枭龙 (Fierce Dragon), represents the Block 1 delivery of JF-17 from 2007 to 2013, is a squadron attack aircraft introduced in Update "Dance of Dragons" as one of the namesake of the patch. While players might notice its small airframe and consider the payload is low, when they eventually researched and aced the aircraft, both the A2A or A2G payload can unleash nightmare to enemy team; underestimate any aircraft at this tier can be a death sentence to themselves.

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Drogue parachute

Reduces braking distance when landing on any runway

Max speed

at 10 973 m1 710 km/h

Turn time20 s

Max altitude15 240 m

EngineKlimov RD-93

Type

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight13 t

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics	Max speed (km/h at _,___ m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	___	___	15240	__._	__._	__._	__._	___
Upgraded	___	___		__._	__._	__._	__._

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
X	✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	500	-	450	450	~__	~__

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< ___	< ___	< ___	-

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Klimov RD-93		1	_,___ kg		___ kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)			Max Gross Weight
Weight (each)	Type		_m fuel	__m fuel	__m fuel
1,050 kg	Jet		_,___ kg	_,___ kg	_,___ kg	_,___ kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (___%/WEP)
Condition	100%	___%/WEP	_m fuel	__m fuel	__m fuel	MGW
Stationary	3,630 kgf	6,590 kgf	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Optimal	___ kgf (_ km/h)	___ kgf (_ km/h)	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__

Survivability and armour

Flares/Chaff

Aircraft countermeasures to distract IR and radar-guided missiles and also AA radar

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear500 km/h

While the aircraft does not have extra armour plates to protect the pilot due to its lightweight; for most aircraft in after Cold-War, onboard nitrogen fire suppression system has been standard issue equipment for all internal fuel tanks. But this is not the case for any external drop tanks, thus drop the tanks immediately once being ignited to minimize the damage to the airframe.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 738 → 5 633

RB8 425 → 12 696

SB11 626 → 17 520

Total cost of modifications332 000

505 000

Talisman cost3 200

Crew training310 000

Experts1 100 000

Aces3 600

Research Aces1 350 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

80 / 290 / 530 %

256 / 256 / 256 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Compressor Research: 9 000 Cost: 14 000 380 New boosters Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 510 Engine Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 630	Fuselage repair Research: 9 000 Cost: 14 000 380 Airframe Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 510 Wings repair Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 680 Cover Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 630	Flares/Chaff Research: 9 000 Cost: 14 000 380 ASELPOD Research: 9 000 Cost: 14 000 380 PL-5EII Research: 9 000 Cost: 14 000 380 Hydra 70 Research: 9 000 Cost: 14 000 380 G-suit Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 510 GBU-12 Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 510 ns23_new_gun Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 510 Fire Snake 90A Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 510 GBU-16 Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 680 GB250 Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 680 Mk82/LS-6 250 Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 680 SD-10 Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 680 EFS Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 630 GBU-10 Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 630 GB500 Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 630 Mk83/LS-6 500 Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 630 Mk84 Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 630

Armaments

Ballistic Computer
CCIP (Guns)	CCIP (Rockets)	CCIP (Bombs)	CCRP (Bombs)	EEGS

Offensive armament

The JF-17 is armed with:

• 1 x 23 mm Type 23-3 cannon, belly-mounted (200 rpg)
• 64 x large calibre countermeasures

The JF-17 is armed with a copy of the Soviet GSh-23L autocannon with 200 rounds of ammunition, familiar to any pilots who have flown the MiG-23 Flogger or J-8 Finback. It has a quick rate of fire with no spool-up time, but its low muzzle velocity and ammo count leaves something to be desired on an aircraft that routinely fights agile fourth-generation fighters. Making matters more difficult is that the gun placement underneath the left air intake is quite off-center and the JF-17 currently does not have an EEGS system like the J-8F. Less experienced users may be better off reserving the gun for low-speed engagements or anti-helicopter/anti-ground activities.

Suspended armament

Default weapon presets

1 x 800 l drop tank + 2 x 1,100 l drop tanks 2 x PL-5EII missiles + 2 x SD-10(A) missiles 4 x PL-5EII missiles 4 x SD-10(A) missiles 114 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets 64 x Fire Snake 90A missiles 7 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (3,500 lb total) 5 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs (5,000 lb total) 3 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs (6,000 lb total) 6 x 277 kg GBU-12 Paveway II bombs (1,662 kg total) 4 x 1,092 lb GBU-16 Paveway II bombs (4,368 lb total) 2 x 957 kg GBU-10 Paveway II bombs (1,914 kg total) 4 x 290 kg LS-6 250 bombs (1,160 kg total) 4 x 630 kg LS-6 500 bombs (2,520 kg total) 4 x 260 kg GB250 bombs (1,040 kg total) 4 x 570 kg GB500 bombs (2,280 kg total)

While the JF-17 as an aircraft isn't know to have a remarkable performance or features, the JF-17's arsenal is very impressive in capabilities and variety. As with the A-5C, the Pakistani-operated JF-17 has a mix of Chinese and American weapons, and interestingly uses a Turkish ASELPOD targeting pod for precision strike.

The air-to-air arsenal is very simple with only two options for missiles. The IR offering is the PL-5EII, a later descendant of the PL-5B and PL-5C missiles arming previous Chinese aircraft. The EII model retains the well-loved high acceleration and short motor burn time of the PL-5C, and in fact has a slightly higher top speed and overload to boot, but most notably features a modern seeker with IRCCM capabilities. The IRCCM is modeled with the same gate-width method as the Magic 2 and R-73 instead of the seeker-shutoff method of the AIM-9M. This fixes the PL-5C's flaw of being easily spoofed by flares and the PL-5EII is a very solid counterpart overall to the Magic 2 and AIM-9M for dogfights and sneak attacks. It can be mounted on the reserved wingtip hardpoints and also on the outer underwing hardpoints for a maximum capacity of four.

For medium and long range attacks, the SD10(A) active-radar missile, essentially an export version of the PL-12 with identical performance, is a competitive offering to its peers and should be familiar to pilots who have used the J-8F. The SD-10A is only available on the outer underwing hardpoints but can be double-racked for a maximum capacity of four.

The rest of the weapons are for ground attack. Unguided weapons are all American and consist of iron bombs ranging from 500 to 2000 lbs (in decent quantities but not matching the F-16A) and Hydra-70 M247 unguided rockets. The precision weapons are more numerous and more interesting. The JF-17 has access to both Chinese and American laser-guided bombs mounted on the four underwing pylons. Ordered from lowest to highest TNT equivalent, they are:

• GB250 - Chinese lightweight LGB with only 91 kg TNT, but IOG capability and an extra long 80 second guidance time
• GBU-12 Paveway II - American lightweight LGB with 117.59 kg TNT, can be double-racked on the mid-wing pylons
• GB500 - Chinese medium weight LGB with 220 kg TNT
• GBU-16 Paveway II - American medium weight LGB with 272.43 kg TNT
• GBU-10 Paveway II - American heavy weight LGB with 578.75 kg TNT

The GB500 is outperformed by the GBU-16. The GB250 and GBU-12 have different tradeoffs of better guidance versus better capacity.

The JF-17 brings a couple of new Chinese precision weapons to the table as well. The Fire Snake 70A (also designated BRM1) laser-guided HEAT rockets are comparable to CIRIT rockets used by the T129 attack helicopter but come in generous pods of 16 rounds each and have an effective range of around 8 km. They hit hard enough to dispatch light vehicles in several strikes and can be salvo fired such that SPAAs will have difficulties intercepting them. BRM1s may not be fast enough to reliably joust long-range SAMs, but they are good supplements for other CAS weapons.

The LS-6 glide bombs with satellite guidance are a very different type of weapon. They come in 250 kg and 500 kg sizes and feature unfolding wings that extend their range and increase their maneuverability compared to other satellite-guided bombs such as the American JDAM or the Russian KAB-500S. It's possible to lob LS-6s towards the battlefield well outside of the range of enemy air defense, as the battery lasts for up to 5 minutes, and then turn around and return to base. While this sounds very impressive on paper, the complete inability of satellite-guided bombs to adjust their destination after release means that they're only effective for hitting inattentive, static targets. Teammate assistance is helpful for identifying targets, especially from long distances where tanks may not render properly even through the targeting pod.

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• High agility and good acceleration, pleasant flying qualities
• Good radar
• Powerful IR and active radar missiles
• Wide variety of ground-attack weapons, including unique laser-guided rockets and satellite glide bombs

Cons:

• Lower top speed compared to peers, cannot reach Mach 2
• No EEGS or HMS, technological disadvantage in dogfights
• No air-to-ground missiles

History

The Broken Sabre

By the 1980s, although having losses during Indo-Pakistani conflicts, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has performed exceptionally well during the two battles even with an air force comprised from multiple sources like US, France and namely, Mainland China. Thanks to the common interest and rather economic price of Chinese jet fighters/attackers, the earlier F-6 (J-6) successfully initiated the aircraft industry in Pakistani with an assembly line in Peshawar. However, Pakistan would also face a common problem for any air force by 1980s - the need to upgrade to new generation jet fighter. In Pakistan's case, PAF has acquired some amount of F-16A since 1983 as a mean to defend against the menacing Soviet forces in Afghanistan; the price of a F-16 was (and still is) rather expensive for Pakistan. Pakistani authorities did foresaw the possibilities of sanctions or embargo from superpowers that would eventually lead to the depletion of spare parts for PAF's fleet. Since PAF has extensive experiences and good impression on their F-7M Skybolt (upgraded J-7B with Western avionics exclusive for export) fleet, the Air Headquarters issued the demand for a domestic jet fighter in view of the import of MiG-29A 9.12B by early-1980s; the plan for the new jet fighter, dubbed as Project Sabre II (or by CAC as Super-7 超七工程) was aimed to be low-cost and multirole. Due to the complete lack of experience on aircraft design, PAF seek for the assistance from Grumman which has having business with Mainland China's aircraft factories, as well as the manufacturer Chengdu Aircraft Corp. (CAC) for the feasibility of project in 1987. Although the months-long assessment on the project suggested for import of foreign aircraft less risky than technology transfer to Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) for the new project, Sabre II still continued as a three-party (Sino-US-Pakistani) project to upgrade the Fishcan airframe into a side-intakes, single engine fighter with new avionics to suit the aircraft; sourcing from mostly US companies to vastly this airframe to modern standards. Although a scale model of the aircraft was made, due to the political complications of late-1980s, CAC could not source from US companies and Grumman has to withdrew from the project. To make situation much worse, the embargo from Project 706 nuclear test against Pakistani caused the delay of future F-16 delivery to PAF in 1990. Although PAF has already acquired the more advanced F-7P with the iconic double delta wing and Project ROSE upgrades/acquisition of Mirage 3/5 with Israeli upgrade, the dire need for a multirole jet fighter still exists.

While Sabre II bit the dust on the Pakistani side, CAC, which still saw the potentials of a fully evolved J-7 with modern avionics, kept the files of Super-7 for future use; not much later, the turning point came.

The Rebirth

By 1990, near the fall of the Red Giant, Soviet Union restarted military exports to Mainland China, in this case the Su-27SK. Soon after the dissolution, the export of more Soviet/Russian equipment was also made possible due to the dire need for foreign exchange and the high demand from PLA's modernization. Exactly on the last month of Soviet Union, CATIC approached Mikoyan for consulting the future of Super-7, out of expectation, the design bureau brought in their vain MiG Izdeliye 33 design as a reference. The Izdeliye 33 was designed as the competitor of F-16 with a light airframe and most importantly, a new Klimov RD-93 engine to power the jet. In this case, Mikoyan become the agent between CAC and Klimov, leading to the use of RD-93 for the undergoing Super-7. Meanwhile, CATIC contacted PAF for further development of the project in 1992. With the President's approval, PAF sent officials to Chengdu in May for a two-month conference which the result was approved at late 1992. With provisions for 21st century battlefield, debates arose for a complete European avionics or Chinese alternatives which were still under development by CETC/CEC. While the requirements has been set by 1996, but as soon as the Chagai-I test in 1998 was conducted, the option for European avionics was eliminated as well. This resulted in the delay on the project for more than a year. With the contract officially signed in 1999, Yang Wei (杨伟, the future chief engineer of J-20) took on the project now under the name FC-1 (Fighter China-1). CAC restarted the project by September 2001 for detailed design and just 23 months later, FC-1PT-01 soared into the skies on 25th August, 2003 albeit delayed by the SARS pandemic of the era. The reason behind the appearance of JF-17 as what the world sees today has to trace back to the PT-04. After the first three prototypes for different purposes were built by 2004, under the phrase two of CAC's scheme, the later prototypes would install the latest domestic avionics, FADEC and FBW control, as well as aerodynamic revisions, namely the Diverterless Supersonic Inlet (DSI) and revised vertical stabilizer. Three more prototypes later, the first two jets (07-101 and 07-102) were delivered from CAC to PAC on March 2007, serving as the evaluation aircraft and assembly guide for future assemblies in Pakistan by PAC. Flown over the skies of Islamabad on the National Day on 23rd March, this marked the new page of Pakistan aviation industry and also further improvement of Sino-Pakistani relationship.

By 2013, with suggestions and evaluations of Block 1 delivery received, CAC debuted the Block 2 with improved radar while Block 3 since 2022 introduced AESA radar, provisions for Chinese domestic jet engine and further improved avionics to evolve the Fierce Dragon into the future battlefield, serving not only Pakistan but also their several export users and any potential users.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Squadron Vehicles: JF-17 Thunder

Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC)
Jet Fighters	JF-17*
	*Jointly developed and built by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.

Squadron aircraft
USA	A-4E Early · F-117
Germany	Me 262 A-1a/U1 · ◌Hunter F.58
USSR	Su-22M3
Britain	Firecrest · Sea Harrier FRS.1
Japan	▄F-5E FCU
China	JF-17