The JF-17 "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets purchased by the Burmese Air Force from China had serious technical problems, and most of them were abandoned and grounded, and never participated in combat missions.

The picture shows the JF-17 "Fierce Dragon" fighter jet used by the Pakistan Air Force.

(European News Agency)

[Instant News/Comprehensive Report] The Myanmar media revealed that the JF-17 "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets purchased by the Myanmar Air Force from China had serious technical problems. Difficult to procure spare parts and ammunition.

According to the report of The Irrawaddy in Myanmar, the JF-17 "Fierce Dragon" fighter is a light multi-purpose fighter jointly developed by China's Chengdu Aircraft Company and Pakistan Aviation Complex. Myanmar purchased 16 JF-17s from China in 2016. The first batch of 6 fighter jets were delivered to the Myanmar Air Force in 2018, but it is unclear whether the remaining 10 will be delivered or not.

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Analysts pointed out that the JF-17 uses avionics made in Western countries and Russian engines, and then installs them on the fuselage made in China. However, the key to the avionics of JF-17 is the poor accuracy of the radar made in China. , and there are maintenance issues, and mission management computers can even reduce the range of air-to-air missiles.

A former pilot of the Burmese Air Force said that when flying a JF-17 in strong gravity, the fuselage is easily damaged, especially the wingtips and weapon mount points.

In addition, because the design of the JF-17 weapon control system is too complicated, the Burmese pilots cannot handle the problem by themselves.

The report pointed out that due to various reasons such as the complex design of the JF-17 weapon control system, Western sanctions on the procurement of parts and bombs, and poor radar accuracy, the fighter has not yet participated in actual combat despite its four-year service in the Myanmar Air Force.

The Myanmar Air Force still relies on Russian-made MiG-29 fighters and Yak-130 light fighters.

The report stated that after the Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing regime came to power, it established a partnership with the Pakistani military, sending air force and air defense officers to Pakistan for training from time to time, and held talks with Pakistan to purchase bombs and rockets.

In May of this year, a Pakistani cargo plane carrying JF-17 parts landed in Myanmar; in September, Pakistan Air Force personnel visited to set up a flight simulator for Myanmar Air Force pilots to solve some problems.