China displayed a wide variety of military aircrafts, including the JF-17 fighter, the L-15 advanced trainer, the Z-10 armed chopper and the Wing Loong drone, at the ongoing Singapore Airshow. Observers said on Wednesday that Chinese warplanes could be an attractive choice for countries in the region.
Overcoming the impact brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) brought several types of advanced aviation products to the Singapore Airshow, which kicked off on Tuesday, the aircraft manufacturer said in a press release.
This is AVIC’s first international comprehensive exhibition in 2022, according to the communique.
Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday that while Southeast Asia is stable and without high risks of military conflict, countries in the region still have a demand of military hardware for the development of their own national defense. Many of these countries are current and potential customers of Chinese equipment.
For fighter and trainer jets, AVIC promoted the JF-17B Thunder twin-seat fighter trainer as its main product. The company also displayed the pure fighter version of the JF-17, the L-15 fighter trainer, the FTC-200G fighter trainer and the K-8 trainer aircraft, AVIC said, noting that this lineup would provide many choices in terms of multi-purpose trainer aircraft.
The JF-17, particularly the latest Block 3 version, is a very advanced fourth generation fighter jet fitted with advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, electronic countermeasure systems and avionics, Fu said, noting that it can be equipped with beyond-visual-range missiles and world-class short-range combat missiles.
Many countries in the region have shown interests in procuring advanced trainer jets and China is offering many best-sellers to choose from at the air show, Fu said.
The Z-10ME, Z-19E and Z-9WE armed helicopters were exhibited in the helicopter booth, in addition to AVIC’s star products, the Wing Loong-1 and Wing Loong-2 drones, according to the company.
Not many countries in the region have advanced armed helicopters or armed reconnaissance drones yet and China’s products could satisfy the demand, Fu said, noting that it will be interesting to see if Southeast Asian countries would want them.
The Singapore Airshow is a window to the Southeast Asian market and the world, Fu noted.
In terms of civilian planes, the company is showing the latest aircraft in the Modern Ark series with the high speed turboprop MA700 regional airliner.
The biennial Singapore Airshow is Asia’s largest aerospace and defense exhibition. This year’s edition kicked off on Tuesday and will last until Friday, February 18.
About 600 exhibitors from 37 countries are participating the air show, with more than 13,000 professional visitors being expected at the Changi Exhibition Center, according to the AVIC.
A JF-17 fighter jet attached to the Pakistan Air Force flies towards the designated airspace during an air-to-ground offensive operation drill conducted by two Chinese JH-7 fighter bombers and two Pakistani JF-17 fighter jets on September 20, 2017. File Photo: eng.chinamil.com.cn
