Asia Times: Chinese fighters add to Pakistan's air muscle


	March 30, 2002	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

Chinese fighters add to Pakistan's air muscle
By Muhammad Rafique

ISLAMABAD - Military cooperation between Pakistan and China reached new heights this week with the unveiling of 20 Chinese-made F-7PG fighter aircraft for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

The medium-tech, multi-role aircraft were handed over at a ceremony at Sumungli air base in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, where the United States-led coalition is providing logistical support to allied forces in Afghanistan.

In a significant remark, Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Khan, the head of the PAF, recalled that China had stood by Pakistan in its previous wars with India, and he praised China for its help in strengthening the nation's forces and for maintaining good relations with Islamabad. "We owe a debt of abiding gratitude to the government and people of China for keeping Pakistan's air force flying fit in difficult times," Khan said.

The aircraft are expected to be drafted into frontline service in April. No 14 Squadron (PAF Minhas) and CCS squadron are likely to be re-equipped with the new aircraft.

Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been squared off along their disputed frontier for months since India blamed the Pakistani intelligence services and Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups for the December 13 attack on its parliament that left 14 people dead. The air chief marshal said that Pakistan wanted to maintain a minimum deterrent capability with regard to India, and Islamabad was not engaged in an arms race with New Delhi.

The F-7PGs were manufactured in China, although the Pakistan aeronautical complex in Kamra, near Rawalpindi, contributed significantly by shipping avionics and in sending engineers to China for training. This will prepare them for the time when Pakistan begins to manufacture the craft in the country, which could be "in the not too distant future", according to one air force official.

A further batch of more than 30 F-7PGs will be dispersed at different air bases in Pakistan, especially in Sargodha, the main operations base in the Punjab. The new-generation aircraft are a further development on the MiG-21 design and feature improved avionics and a more powerful engine than the PAF's current inventory of F-7MP Skybolt fighters.

Khan said that Pakistan and China were also engaged in a more ambitious program for the joint production of Super-7 aircraft, which have entered the prototype manufacturing stage. They are expected to be pressed into service by June 2003.

Contacted by Asia Times Online, Air Commodore Qadeer Hashmi, director of public relations of the PAF, said that the cost of the F-7PGs was a closely guarded secret, adding only that the price was competitive in comparison to planes from Western countries or former Soviet republics. He added that the aircraft were highly maneuverable and that their induction would add to the punch of the air force "to maintain deterrence against the Indian air force".

Pakistan is attempting to buy F-16s from the US and the latest Mirage jets from France, without much success.

The F-7PGs will replace the F-6s in the Pakistan Air Force which have been in service for more than three decades, making more than 400,000 sorties. Recently, though, they have been referred to as "flying coffins" after a number of crashes.

India enjoys a massive military superiority over Pakistan, with more than twice as many troops - 1.2 million compared with 620,000 - and with a much larger and more sophisticated nuclear arsenal at its disposal. Leading international think-tanks and intelligence outfits estimate that India has about 90 nuclear bombs to Pakistan's 30, which at present can be delivered by aircraft. But both countries are perfecting delivery systems through missiles. India's Agni and Pakistan's Ghauri II both have a range of 25,000 kilometers.

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