BEIJING, : The latest, upgraded version of the JF-17 fighter jet has recently been spotted equipped with China\u2019s most advanced air-to-air combat missile that is also used by China\u2019s J-20 stealth aircraft, with military observers saying on Thursday that the weapon will give the China-Pakistan jointly developed light fighter the upper hand against its counterparts in dogfights and make it one of the world\u2019s best in its class.<\/p>\n
A photo recently circulating on social media shows a JF-17 Block 3 fighter jet with the serial number \u20183001\u2019\u009d on a test flight, Global Times quoting eastday.com, a Shanghai-based news website, reported.<\/p>\n
This is the first time the aircraft with this particular serial number has been seen by the general public, and a PL-10 air-to-air combat missile can be seen on the tip of each of its wings, the report said, without revealing the date and location.<\/p>\n
As the short-range combat missile also used by China\u2019s most advanced J-20 stealth fighter jet and others, the PL-10 represents the highest level of its kind, and previous JF-17s are equipped with the old PL-5.<\/p>\n
Observers said that the PL-10 equipped by the JF-17 Block 3 is likely an export variation, the PL-10E, which made its debut at the Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, South China\u2019s Guangdong Province.<\/p>\n
The PL-10E is a domestically developed, fourth generation air-to-air missile, and is one of the most advanced in the world that is on par with the US\u2019AIM-9X, Liang Xiaogeng, chief designer of the missile, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the exhibition in 2018.<\/p>\n
Thanks to its infrared-homing, extreme aerodynamic design and other advanced technologies, no aircraft, even stealth ones, can escape from the PL-10, eastday.com reported, also citing Liang.<\/p>\n
With the PL-10, the JF-17 Block 3 will gain tremendous dogfight capability and have an edge even against its heavier opposing counterparts in homeland air defense, a Beijing-based military expert told the Global Times, requesting anonymity.<\/p>\n
In addition to the PL-10, the JF-17 Block 3 also received a more advanced radar, as China Central Television reported on Saturday that the fighter jet is equipped with the KLJ-7A airborne active electronically scanned array fire control radar.<\/p>\n
The radar is of the most advanced level in the world, Hu Mingchun, director of the No.14 Research Institute at the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Co, told at the 9th World Radar Expo in Nanjing, East China\u2019s Jiangsu Province, last week.<\/p>\n
The first JF-17 Block 3 prototype, with serial number \u20183000\u2019\u009d, was taken into the skies for the first time in December 2019 in Chengdu, Southwest China\u2019s Sichuan Province.<\/p>\n
Other technologies, including a new and larger holographic wide-angle head-up display and integrated cockpit display similar to the one used by the J-20, in addition to an advanced infrared missile approach warning system used by the J-10C, J-16 and J-20 fighter jets, are also used on the JF-17 Block 3.<\/p>\n
The JF-17 Block 3 will be one of the world\u2019s most powerful light fighter jets, experts said.
\nThe Block 1 and 2 versions of the JF-17 can also use new radars and missiles for upgrades, analysts said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING, : The latest, upgraded version of the JF-17 fighter jet has recently been spotted equipped with China\u2019s most advanced air-to-air combat missile that is also used by China\u2019s J-20 stealth aircraft, with military observers saying on Thursday that the weapon will give the China-Pakistan […]<\/p>\n
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