Though four Chinese civilians were killed by bombs dropped by MiG-29 fighters of the Myanmar Air Force, sources from Pakistan’s Ministry of Defense said that a contract had been signed for Islamabad to sell the JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter, also known as the FC-1 Xiaolong, which was jointly developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, to Naypyidaw, Islamabad’s Capital Television reported on March 18.
The report said various countries including Nigeria, Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Myanmar had shown great interest in purchasing the fighter from Pakistan because its price is much cheaper than other fighter jets of the same class such as the F-16 and the Eurofighter. Myanmar demonstrated its interest in the fighter back in June 2014, according to the Myanmar Times.
Myanmar also wants to build a production line with the assistance of China and Pakistan to build the fighter for itself. Thanks to previous cooperation with China, Myanmar already has experience in producing Chinese aircraft such as the J-7 fighter or Q-5 attacker.
The purchase of the Thunder has not yet been confirmed by government officials in Myanmar. Pakistan is pushing hard to sell the fighter to foreign markets but none of the countries mentioned above has yet made a decision.
