By IANS,
Islamabad : The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) is to soon begin serial production of the JF-17 Thunder multi-role combat jet that has been developed in collaboration with China, a parliamentary panel has been informed.
PAC chairperson Air Marshal Khalid Chaudhry told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence Production during its visit to the complex Thursday that a factory for serial production of the JF-17 had already been established.
The factory can produce 50 aircraft annually, Chaudhry added.
The committee, headed by Sheikh Aftab Ahmad, was also informed that the PAC has the capability to manufacture 75 percent of the avionics and 58 percent of the airframe of modern fighter aircraft, The News reported Friday.
Speaking about the PAC’s other projects, Chaudhry said it had been overhauling around 180 engines of various fighter jets and 60 aircraft a year.
This apart, the Mirage Rebuild Factory has been rebuilding 35-year-old versions of the aircraft that had been bought as scrap from various countries.
In the avionics sector, state-of-the-art machinery recently imported from various countries has been installed to manufacture a range of instruments for different versions of the aircraft in the Pakistan Air Force inventory.
Chaudhry said PAC had also been awarded a $15 million contract for manufacturing different parts of Boeing aircraft.