ISLAMABAD: Argentina intends to purchase 12 JF-17A Block-III fighter jets from Pakistan, according to a draft budget presented to the Congress of the Argentine Nation.
According to UK Defence Journal, a website focused on defence matters, the Open Source Intelligence account @PSFAERO uncovered the news earlier in a tweet: “Argentina selects Pakistan’s Thunder Jet – The government of Argentina has officially included $664 million in funding for the purchase of 12 PAC JF-17A Block III fighters from Pakistan in a draft budget for 2022 presented to its Parliament.”
The two nations have had friendly relations for a while, Argentina has been part of the consensus in favour of the resolution put forward by Pakistan on the right to self-determination, which is debated annually at the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Pakistan has voted in favour of the UN Resolution stipulating that “the continued existence of colonialism is incompatible with the ideal of universal peace held by the United Nations”, which has relevance for the Falklands Islands issue.
The chair of the Pakistan Senate has said of the relationship that “Pakistan and Argentina have very close cooperation in various fields and unanimity of views on international issues,” reported the UK Defence Journal.
The JF-17 Thunder is a single-engine multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China. The builders say that the JF-17 can be used for multiple roles, including interception, ground attack, anti-ship, and aerial reconnaissance.
Fifty-eight percent of the JF-17 airframe, including its front fuselage, wings, and vertical stabiliser, is produced in Pakistan, whereas 42 percent is produced in China, with the final assembly taking place in Pakistan.
Similarly, Sweden’s Saab AB in 2015 ruled out facilitating the sale of Gripen fighter aircraft to Argentina as the result of a deal to build and export combat jets from Brazil. – TLTP