Pakistan Air Force's trainer jet crashes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, pilot's condition unclear

Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) trainer jet crashed in the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, reported news agency ANI citing local media reports on September 22. Reportedly, a PAF spokesperson said that the jet was on a training mission when it crashed near KP province’s Mardan district. A committee has been constituted to determine the cause behind the Wednesday incident. PAF did not specify the condition of the pilot. 

In a separate incident, a Pakistan Air Force trainer aircraft had crashed near Punjab Province’s Attock city in July during a training session. At the time, a PAF statement had said that a board of inquiry was ordered to investigate the entire incident. Back in September 2020, another PAF trainer aircraft had crashed in the Attock district during a routine exercise. Last year in February, a PAF Mirage aircraft also crashed near Shorkot in Punjab province while performing a routine operational training session. 

Argentina plans to buy Pakistan's Thunder fighter jets  

Meanwhile, as per a report by Daily Pakistan, Argentina is planning to purchase 12 JF-17 Thunder aircraft from Pakistan. The news was initially revealed by Pakistan Strategic Forum on Twitter noting that the South American country was officially included $664 million in funding for buying fighter jets in a draft budget for 2022 presented to its Parliament. The forum said in a tweet, “The 12 JF-17s will include 10 single seater Block IIIs and 2 dual seat Block IIIs.”

“The PAC JF-17A Block III is a supersonic, multirole 4+ generation fighter aircraft able to perform combat air patrol, air interdiction, beyond visual range integrated battle, long range maritime strikes, standoff range precision ground strikes, anti radiation SEAD/DEAD missions and electronic warfare,” it added. The JF-17 Thunder has been jointly built by Pakistan and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. 

Argentina’s jet deal with Pakistan came after the UK reportedly blocked the South Korean fighter jets to Buenos Aires. Meanwhile, Argentina has also sought to buy Sweden's JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets back in 2015 but that deal collapsed amid pressure from Britain.

(With inputs from ANI)

IMAGE: @DGPR_PAF/Twitter