On February 26, 2019, Pakistan launched a counter-attack with US F-16 fighters and Chinese JF-17 fighters south of Pir Panjal in Jammu and Kashmir, a day after the Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror training camp at Balakot to avenge the Pulwama terror strike.
There is documentary evidence that the Pakistan Air Force only used F-16s to target unspecified targets across the LoC in the Nowshera-Rajouri-Poonch sector, with no JF-17 fighters involved.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman shot down a much superior F-16 before crashing his vintage MiG-21 Bison in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, intercepting the Pakistani strike (PoK). While the US F-16 fired air-to-air missiles at Indian fighters, the much-touted Sino-Pak developed JF-17 was only for show and remained hidden behind the American fighters during the air battle. The JF-17 programme is currently on hold due to a shortage of spare parts for the Russian-made Klimov RD 93 aircraft engine.
Suffering from multiple JF-17 aircraft failures, primarily due to the unreliability of RD-93 engines, Pakistan approached Russia directly, bypassing China. Following multiple negotiations between Islamabad and Moscow, Russian engine manufacturer Kilmov has indicated its willingness to supply RD-93 engines, as well as associated repair systems and maintenance facilities, to JF-17 aircraft.
However, in 2018, the US sanctioned M/s Rosoboronexport, which is authorised to export defence equipment including RD-93 engines and spares, negatively impacting the PAF’s sourcing of RD-93 engine spares. The sanctions prevent Rosoboronexport from conducting US dollar transactions, which the two governments and concerned banks are currently attempting to resolve.
Russia has strengthened its defence ties with Pakistan by allowing it to purchase the RD-93 engine directly from Russia rather than through China, as was previously the case. However, international relations are in flux, and strategic equations are shifting rapidly, with Russia under pressure from the West and seeking support from others. Russia appears to be moving closer to China in the evolving geopolitical matrix that Pakistan seeks to exploit.
The Pakistan Air Force is plagued by underperforming JF-17 aircraft.
The JF-17 fighter jets, developed jointly by Pakistan and China, were supposed to be a low-cost, lightweight, all-weather, multi-role fighter with a Chinese airframe, but they have now become a liability for Islamabad because they have failed to live up to the hype of being the best fighter aircraft in the world. Islamabad’s experience with the JF-17 aircraft, particularly its Russian-made RD-93 engines, tells a completely different story, raising serious concerns about the aircraft’s quality.
The Pakistani military had hoped for a fighter aircraft similar to the Russian Su-30 MKI or the French Mirage 2000, but the JF-17 aircraft fell far short of their expectations, performing poorly against the Indian Air Force’s Mirage 2000 and Su-30s.
In addition, since its induction into the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in 2009, the JF-17 has recorded a string of crashes, casting serious doubts on the aircraft’s fitness. The PAF discovered, much to its chagrin, that the JF-17 aircraft is nowhere near the boastful claims made by China due to problems encountered in the performance of the aircraft’s Russian-made RD-93 engines.
To make matters worse, the PAF has been experiencing difficulties with the aircraft’s serviceability due to a shortage of spares and engines. A large number of Russian RD-93 engines installed in JF-17 aircraft have developed cracks in guide vanes, exhaust nozzles, and flame stabilisers, and the PAF has been working hard to replace these engines due to contractual obligations that force Pakistan to obtain the RD-93 engines from Russia only through China. To compound the PAF’s woes, the China National Aero Technology Export & Import Corporation’s (CATIC) slow response in providing necessary spares and support for the RD-93 engines of the PAF’s JF-17 aircraft resulted in the grounding of more than half of the PAF’s total number of these aircraft (137).