Pakistan has Exported About 100 Locally Assembled Aircraft in 2017

Pakistan is making immense progress in manufacturing defense products and is becoming the center of attention in the international market, said the Ministry of Defense Rana Tanveer Hussain.

About 100 small aircrafts “made in Pakistan” have been exported to various countries.

Pakistan has great potential when it comes to manufacturing defense products and introducing them worldwide.

Rana Tanveer said, we are fulfilling the requirement of law enforcement agencies regarding the provision of defense-related equipment”.

This year in May, the Turkish Undersecretary for Defense Industries (SSM) gave Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) a contract for the sale of 52 MFI-395 Super Mushshak military training aircraft. The deal was made in this year’s International Defense Industry Fair, Istanbul. This deal was considered as PAC’s largest export order.

“If we make it [commercial aircraft] cost-effective, with sustained logistics and maintenance, it is going to be attractive to international customers”, says Air Marshall PAC Ahmer Shahzad told the media at 2017 Dubai Air Show.

Although MFI-395 Super Mushak was the major export, various countries like Argentina, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Nigeria, the Philippines, Venezuela and Zimbabwe showed great interest in JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft which was designed and built in cooperation with the Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC) China.

“This is the model we have to learn from the United States of America, engineering in our security sectors must be leveraged for commercial opportunities and commercial applications so that it becomes a multiplier for national development.” Interior minister Ahsan Iqbal said.

For now, PAC and CAC have delivered almost 70 JF-17s with 14 additional aircraft expected to be manufactured by the end of 2017.

Not just that, PTDI has also signed an agreement with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to aid in marketing and technical support for N219.

By far, Turkey is Pakistan’s major trade partner in aircraft. If they keep up the pace, Pakistan’s defense products, especially aircrafts, could gain international recognition and help increase the country’s dwindling exports.

Via TheNation



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