On January 16, 2025, Bangladesh officially showed interest in acquiring JF-17 Thunder Block 3 multirole fighter jets from Pakistan as reported by Express Tribune.
The Bangladesh Air Force which has the sole responsibility of defending Bangladesh’s skies and providing close air support to the ground forces has been struggling with its aging fleet of MiG-29 and Chengdu F-7 jets.
Currently, Bangladesh operates 8 MiG-29s and over 36 F-7 interceptor aircraft. The MiG-29s were bought in 1999 from the Russian Federation and were upgraded to BM standards in 2014 by Belarus. It is the most capable fighter jet currently in BAF’s inventory but currently, it is facing multiple problems such as the availability of spare parts and modern weapons/avionics thus it needs to be replaced by a more modern and capable multirole fighter aircraft.
Under Sheikh Hasina’s government a modernization program was commenced in 2009 known as Forces Goal 2030. It aimed to rapidly upgrade and acquire newer and more sophisticated military hardware for its armed forces. Under this program, Bangladesh was interested in purchasing 16 Western multirole fighter jets for the Air Force. French Rafael and European Multinational Eurofighter Typhoon were selected. Bangladesh Air Force requested the government to earmark at least 2.5 billion Euros for the acquisition of the aircraft, however, the budget seemed to be too much for the economy of the nation, and the high maintenance cost of the jets was also an issue.
After the ousting of PM Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has been improving its relationships with Pakistan in the field of Defense and Trade. It has bought Artillery ammunition and explosives from Pakistan and is also interested in acquiring JF-17 block 3 aircraft from Pakistan. The reason why it is interested in such a platform for its Air Force is that the jet is a cost-effective multirole fighter aircraft equipped with the latest technology and trusted by the Air Forces of Pakistan, Nigeria and Myanmar. It has proven itself in combat in Pakistan’s war on terror and Nigeria’s airstrikes on illegal oil refineries.
The aircraft is jointly produced by Pakistan and China, currently hundreds of jets are in service. The aircraft is unsanctionable, being able to use Pakistani, Chinese and Turkish systems and armaments. It offers a wide range of Air to Air BVR capable missiles, cruise missiles, guided and unguided bombs and anti-ship missiles such as the C-802AK and the CM-400AKG supersonic anti-ship missile and a 23mm twin-barrel cannon. In the future, it would also be equipped with Taimoor air-launched stealth cruise missile. It comes with the advanced KLJ-7A AESA radar developed by China having a range of over 150 km, Radar Warning Receiver, Heads up display, Helmet Mounted Display System, IFF system, Missile Approach Warning System, data bus, Link-17, ASELPOD advanced Targeting Pod, FLIR Day/Night targeting Pod, KG600/KG700 ECM/ Self Protection Jamming Pod and WS-13 engine replacing the RD-93MA. It has 8 Hardpoints with the capacity for dual ejector racks on each under-wing Hardpoint and has a payload capacity of 3400kg. It has a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and a combat range of 900 km which could be increased up to 1741 km with the addition of 3 external drop tanks.
It is the best Light Combat Aircraft in the world with a solid supply line, low cost and no restrictions. It has a huge market potential being an ideal 4Plus generation aircraft for low-budget air forces. The block 2 variant is said to have a price limit of 25 million dollars per aircraft while the latest and most advanced variant the block 3 is a bit more expensive but still a cost-effective platform for Bangladesh’s Air Force.
