Pakistan's Thunder Block-III
Photographed during the rehearsals for the Pakistan Day Parade, which were held on 23 March 2023, the Pakistan Fiza'ya (PAF, Pakistan Air Force) showed two PAC JF-17 Thunder Block-III for the first time in public.
The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) in Kamra started Block 3 production in 2018/2019 and on 30 December 2020, the air force officially celebrated the start of the Block-III production. The first JF-17 Block-III, with serial number 3000, made its maiden flight at the CAC facilities in Chengdu (China) on 15 December 2019.
The Thunder Block-III, also named C version, is an extensively modified version compared to two previous versions with a new AESA KLJ-7A airborne fire-control radar (FCR) adding more firepower in combination with the long range PL-15 air-to-air missile, a new Missile Approach Warning (MAW) system, an enhanced Electronic Warfare (EW) management system and Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) with external ECM pods. Further the Block-III is equipped with a new Head-Up Display (HUD) integrated with a Head Mounted Display (HMD), use of more composite materials for weight reduction and adding a chin-mounted device, which might house an infrared search and tracking (IRST) system. Clearly visible is the in-flight refuelling probe, a feature also available on the Block-II version.
According to the Scramble Magazine Pakistan Air Order of Battle, the following squadrons operate the JF-17 Thunder:
It is reported that 16(MR) Squadron Black Panthers will be the first unit to operate the Block-III variant.
For more information on the Pakistan Air Order of Battle please visit the Scramble Magazine website.
Photo by Baqir Kazmi (via JetPhotos.com)