JF-17 Thunder: Iraq would be the next customer of the Sino/Pakistani fighter

As per information reported, Pakistan would have already obtained a new export order for the JF-17 Thunder, this time from Iraq, which intends to purchase a dozen fighters in its advanced Block III version.

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According to the Pakistani media The Nation, high-level military sources have reported  the information that several rounds of negotiations took place between Pakistan and Iraq this year, and that these concluded with the recent visit of the Iraqi defense delegation, headed by the Deputy Commander of the Iraqi Air Force, Major General (Pilot) Muhammad Majeed Mahmood and other officials.

Insiders claim that the defense agreement was approved by the Iraqi and Pakistani governments and a formal agreement is expected to be signed in Islamabad next month. The Iraqi government has approved an outlay of $664 million for the purchase of 12 JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jets from Pakistan.

Iraqi Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Juma Inad Saadoun earlier visited Pakistan in May, when  he held meetings with Pakistani leaders and officials and discussed Iraq’s interest in purchasing the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets.

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Pakistan previously hosted a major defense exhibition in Baghdad in April 2021, where the JF-17 Thunder featured prominently and attracted a lot of attention. A month earlier, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Nadeem Raza also visited Iraq and met with local senior defense officials and discussed defense cooperation between the two countries.

Currently the JF-17 Thunder Block III is in production at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) for the Pakistani Air Force, and it is expected that, after the signing of the contract, the production of the Iraqi aircraft will commence. Argentina is also expected to make a decision on its next supersonic fighter. Following the mention of this specific model in the fiscal year 2022 budget proposal (later rectified) presented to the Argentine congress, hopes are high that the Thunder will also wear the Argentine Air Force (FAA) badge in the future.