ISLAMABAD, April 16: The air force on Friday announced plans to integrate the Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles into the JF-17 Thunder aircraft.

Half of the 16 Thunders from the first batch of the supersonic third-generation aircraft are expected to be inducted into the PAF inventory by mid 2006, while the rest would be conscripted by the Chinese air force.

Briefing journalists at the JF-17 Thunder project directorate at Chaklala, Air Vice-Marshal Shahid Lateef shared the progress being made on the project and dilated on the features of the maiden flight of prototype-3 held at Chengdu in China on April 9.

It was for the first time that two foreign pilots had flown a prototype aircraft in China. "We have now selected the BVR missiles for integration into the JF-17 Thunder. We made a breakthrough recently by acquiring the technology," he said. He said the JF-17 would also carry H-2 and H-4 bombs.

About the avionics component of the JF-17, AVM Lateef said the West was reluctant to offer help in this regard. He said an avionics package for the aircraft had been examined and a contract for it would be finalized next month. In reply to a question, AVM Lateef said five radars of Italian make would be used on the prototypes.

The information made available to the media said the prototype-1 of the aircraft was for verification of flight performance, prototype-2 for ground and load testing, prototype-3 for verification of light performance, prototype-4 for avionics and weapons integration and qualification and prototype-5 for fatigue testing. Prototype-2 and prototype-5 were only for ground tests, it said.

AVM Lateef said induction of the aircraft would help maintain combat potential, especially at a time when the need to replace the ageing fleet was the top priority and new aircraft were not available from anywhere. "It (JF-17) would replace every aircraft that would retire," he said.

According to the schedule, flight testing of the aircraft would end this year. The small batch production would be followed by serial production. AVM Lateef said 25 PAF officers had been sent to China and the PAF would have enough expertise to duplicate the work in Pakistan when the people trained in China returned.

He said a number of countries were interested in buying the aircraft. He said the Chinese air force had ordered the aircraft in big numbers.