Pakistan looks to vintage defense equipment deals to generate money for ailing economy

Pakistan grapples with an ailing economy, it has taken to raising funds by selling its defence equipment especially its inventory of vintage aircraft.

As a general point, it must be noted that arms sales are rarely a purely commercial endeavour.

The transfer of weapons is in significant part politically driven, perhaps by the influence exerted by powerful states over weaker ones, or the financial and/or economic benefits afforded by some vendors in comparison to others.

Earlier this year Pakistan announced the phasing out of its ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle AEWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control System) which was inducted into the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) as the first Chinese aircraft equipped with an early warning system.

Based on the Shaanxi Y-8 aircraft platform, the system is capable of providing crucial surveillance and situational awareness capabilities.

The retirement of the ZDK-03 was especially odd as it recently underwent a major mid-life upgrade, modernization, and overhaul program in Chengdu, China, to enhance its performance and capacity. In the complex hybrid battlefield environment, this system significantly improves offensive capabilities.

According to sources Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is planning to sell its ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle AEWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control System), CN-235 transport aircraft and F-7P (MIG21) along with their associated equipment/inventories to Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

In this regard, the PAF has requested the Pakistani mission in South Africa to initiate the process of offering these aircraft platforms to African countries on 'no liability/no obligation' basis.

Soon after the retirement of the ZDK-03, at a ceremony held in early 2024, Pakistan inducted a new SAAB 2000-based Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft and several new types of aircraft, like the Chengdu J-10 CE 'Dragon' multirole fighters and ex-Belgian Air Force C-130 H Hercules airlifters.

The induction of new Chinese equipment coincides with heightened efforts to sell the PAF's large vintage aircraft inventory, especially its JF-17 Thunder aircraft to raise cash.

The JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft, jointly developed by Pakistan and China, can be considered a show-case of Sino-Pak defence cooperation. While about 42% of the aircraft parts are China-made, the remaining 58% of manufacturing is done in Pakistan.

China started supplying PAF F-6 aircraft (air defence version of MiG-19) in 1965. A squadron of Harbin H-5, a Chinese version of Russian Illyshin IL-28, was formed in early 70s.

China helped establish Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra in 1973. The complex is wholly owned by PAF with all appointments controlled by PAF Chief.

In the mid 1980s PAF received A-5Cs (Chinese MiG-19 ground attack variants) and Chengdu F-7s (Chinese MiG-21). After the US froze F-16 deliveries and stopped spares, Pakistan went whole hog to China for all its aerospace needs.

In 2007, as a part of a joint-venture project, China rolled-out a 'designed for Pakistan' fighter JF-17 'Thunder'.

Inducted into its air force in 2007, Pakistan currently operates 50 Block III, the latest model of JF-17, while the numbers of earlier versions - Block I and II - stand at 120.

Pakistan is set to sell 12 JF-17 'Thunder' Block III fighter aircraft to Iraq.

According to Pakistan media, the Iraqi government had approved an outlay of $664 million for the purchase of 12 JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jets from the country after two years of negotiations.

If finalised, this deal, valued at approximately $1.1 billion, would be the biggest arms sale ever in Pakistan's history. The JF-17 has already been acquired by the air forces of Malaysia, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, and Myanmar.

It's worth noting that there have been reports of technical issues with the JF-17 fleet in Myanmar, where the entire fleet was grounded due to malfunctioning. The deal awaits formal ratification by the Iraqi parliament.

Roughly at $17-25 million per JF-17, Pakistan has previously secured the sale of three JF-17s to the Nigerian Air Force.

The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) recognises African countries do not have large defence budgets, and so it has been using the International Air Shows as a platform to acquire other customers in Africa, which includes the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF). In 2016  Nigerian Air Force (NAF) purchased 10 Super Mushshak trainers.

In addition to the Super Mushshak aircraft, a number of Pakistan Air Force pilots also joined the NAF's 310 Flying School to help train NAF pilots.

Three JF-17's have been sold to the Nigerian Air Force in 2018, and have delivered at least six out of an order of eighteen JF-17Ms to Myanmar. China and Pakistan are aggressively trying to find possible export customers.

Targeted countries are Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Myanmar, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

In 2021, there were reports that Turkey was considering buying JF-17s to replace its ageing fleet of F-4 Phantom IIs. However, these reports were never confirmed, and it is not clear if Turkey is still interested in purchasing JF-17s.

However, the actual military utility of these vintage aircraft is debatable. Nearly every Pakistani aircraft system sold abroad is Chinese made.

And even with the PRC's substantial modification and upgrading, many of these aircraft defensive systems are at least two or three generations behind current Western or Soviet designs.

For instance, Myanmar had inked a deal in early 2016 to procure 16 JF-17s from China at a cost of $25 million each. The first batch of six aircraft were delivered to the Myanmar Air Force in 2018.However in 2022, the Myanmar junta grounded the fleet due to maintenance issues.

The most worrying thing is that Pakistan is exporting materials that can have important military applications, and although less visibly but just as significantly, Pakistan is slowly becoming an exporter of Chinese military technology.