After being accused of “supporting terror” by the United States, Pakistan has lost its status as an “ally” and cannot continue to obtain US-made high-tech weapons at preferential prices, especially the new F-16 fighter jets.
In addition, Saudi Arabia’s relationship with India has gone in recent years. Recently, military aid to Pakistan has been reduced. At present, while the Pakistan Air Force is trying its best to obtain F-16 fighter jets, the only new fighter jet it can obtain is the JF-17 “Fierce Dragon”.
Regarding the actual performance of the “Fierce Dragon”, there are a lot of articles on the Internet, claiming that the “Fierce Dragon” can not only match the F-16 and Su-30MKI, but can even fight the “Rafa” just acquired by the Indian Air Force.
Of course, India also has similar views. , Claiming that “Rafale” can not only suppress the Su-35, but also fight the J-20. It is difficult for non-professionals to judge whether it is true or false.
However, in the air battle between India and Pakistan in February last year, the Pakistan Air Force still used the F-16 As the main force in air combat, it shot down at least one MiG-21 fighter of the Indian Air Force, while the “Fierce Dragon” and the “Phantom”-3 together undertook a secondary ground attack mission.
In any case, although the “Fierce Dragon” plays a low-end role in the Pakistan Air Force, the number is increasing. At present, the Pakistan Air Force has more than 110 “Fierce Dragon” fighters, which are Block 1 and Block 2, which are more advanced.
The Block 3 batch is also about to be equipped. The Pakistan Air Force intends to replace all the J-7, “Phantom” -3/5 and Qiang -5 with “Fierce Dragon”, forming a high-low match with the US-made F-16 fighter jets.
Recently, Indian media quoted Russian media as saying that due to fatal flaws, a large number of “Fierce Dragon” fighters at two air bases in Pakistan have been grounded.
them, 40% of the aircraft had multiple cracks in the fuselage skin. The cracks are mainly concentrated in the connecting position of the wing and the fuselage, which is the part where the aircraft bears the greatest impact from overload and landing.
There were also problems with the cockpit glass and ejection seat of Xiaolong, which made it difficult or even impossible for the pilot to eject, which brought great potential risks.
Regarding the detailed report, it is still unclear. There have been many articles on the Internet that talk about this matter, claiming that this is a rumor spread by the Indian media, and deliberately did not mention that India is also reprinted by Russian media information.
It is particularly worth noting that although the Pakistan Defense News Network referred to the Indian media reports as rumors, the Pakistani Ministry of Defense and Air Force did not respond to this report, while some Indian media reported that the Indian side had detected the Pakistan Air Force’s
