ISLAMABAD: At least three Pakistan Air Force (PAF) JF-17 Thunder fighter aircrafts along with a contingent, comprising pilots and technicians, departed for Paris today, to participate in the upcoming Paris Air Show 2015.

PAF spokesperson Air Commodore S M Ali said, "The 51st Air Show organised by French Aerospace Industries Association will start on 15 June, 2015 at the Le Bourget Parc des Expositions and would continue till 21 June, 2015."

The spokesperson also said one JF-17 fighter aircraft will perform in the flying display and another will be on static display throughout the Air Show.

The JF-17 Thunder has already participated in various air shows around the world including Farnborough Air Show (UK), Zhuhai Air Show (China), Turkish Air Show (Turkey) and Dubai Air Show (UAE).

The aircraft is also poised to become the mainstay of PAF, as the PAF plans to replace its ageing fleet of fighter aircraft with JF-17s.

The JF-17 Thunder has been jointly co-developed by Pakistan and China — is a light weight, all weather multi-role fighter jet. It is equipped with a modern state-of-the-art avionics suite and an advanced cockpit layout.

The fighter jet has the capability to carry out air-to-air and air-to-ground strikes, and can be fitted with beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles.