{"id":57871,"date":"2019-02-21T17:13:02","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T17:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:21:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:21:07","slug":"how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ISLAMABAD \u2014 Pakistan hopes to sell its JF-17 Thunder aircraft to Malaysia, now that the cash-strapped country is officially looking for such a fighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malaysia was eyeing larger fighters like the Rafale and Typhoon, but that plan was shelved due to budgetary woes, and the country instead turned to fulfill a light combat aircraft requirement. An LCA fleet would support Malaysia\u2019s F\/A-18 and Su-30 fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The JF-17 is under consideration alongside the Tejas, produced by India\u2019s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and the FA-50 Golden Eagle, made by South Korea\u2019s Korea Aerospace Industries. Pakistan\u2019s offering is the most affordable of the three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An Indian Hindu priest conducts a ritual in fromt of a newly commissioned Indian Air Force (IAF) Tejas or Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in Bangalore on July 1, 2016, during a ceremony in the southern Indian city. \nIndia’s air force added its first domestically developed light fighter aircraft to its fleet, as it phases out ageing Russian jets dubbed “Flying Coffins”. The bellow of conch shells and crack of breaking coconuts — auspicious Hindu rituals — sounded as the two Tejas jets were handed over to the Indian Air Force in the southern city of Bangalore.\n \/ AFP \/ STR (Photo credit should read STR\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Defense News reported in 2015 that Malaysia was considering the JF-17 as an option for its Air Force modernization program, as signaled by its high commissioner to Pakistan, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan. But Malaysia\u2019s defense minister at the time denied the report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan renewed efforts last year, most notably at April\u2019s DSA defense expo in Malaysia and November\u2019s IDEAS defense conference in Pakistan. Pakistan is offering the latest Block III variant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2021-2022 LCA program delivery time frame means a Malaysian order could include some of the first fighters off the production line, with potential industrial offsets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analyst and former Pakistan Air Force pilot Kaiser Tufail says the Block III \u201cis quite promising” with an active electronically scanned array radar, helmet-mounted display and sight, electronic countermeasures, and an additional underbelly intake sensor station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tufail noted the JF-17 has been operational for the past 12 years and serves in six squadrons at full operational capability, whereas the Tejas was inducted just days ago \u201cand has to go through the usual teething troubles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“On cost grounds, the JF-17 has a square chance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Ho, an air power analyst with the Military Studies Programme at Singapore\u2019s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the contenders have \u201cfairly similar\u201d performance, with individual advantages \u201cmarginal\u201d or \u201cnegated in other areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The JF-17 costs $25 million per unit, and the Tejas and the FA-50 cost approximately $28 million and $30 million respectively. An order of 36 JF-17 fighters would mean \u201ca very substantial amount will be saved,\u201d Ho said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The South Korean FA-50s is one of five options the Croatian Ministry of Defense is considering for a fighter acquisition. (Republic of Korea Air Force, Korea Aerospace Industries)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, the JF-17\u2019s Russian engine may be problematic, as due to serviceability issues with the related engine of Malaysia\u2019s MiG-29s, potentially requiring \u201csignificant after-sales support and maintenance,\u201d Ho added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tejas is powered by the same General Electric F404 engine used in Malaysia\u2019s F\/A-18s, and shares weaponry with the Su-30s. However, the Tejas\u2019 Israeli avionics would likely need replaced, which \u201cinvariably means additional costs,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the FA-50 is the \u201ccostliest prima facie,\u201d it is also powered by the F404, shares weaponry used by the F\/A-18, may have \u201clower downstream costs\u201d and is in service regionally, allowing \u201cinteroperability between its major regional counterparts during exercises and operations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The JF-17 is under consideration alongside the Tejas, produced by India\u2019s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and the FA-50 Golden Eagle, made by South Korea\u2019s Korea Aerospace Industries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":83245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,45,160,11,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3413],"class_list":["post-57871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JV7EL4PUDNAZHKHEBFNDADX3EQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nHow does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition? - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The JF-17 is under consideration alongside the Tejas, produced by India\u2019s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and the FA-50 Golden Eagle, made by South Korea\u2019s Korea Aerospace Industries.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The JF-17 is under consideration alongside the Tejas, produced by India\u2019s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and the FA-50 Golden Eagle, made by South Korea\u2019s Korea Aerospace Industries.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-21T17:13:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:21:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Usman Ansari\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Usman Ansari\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition?\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2019-02-21T17:13:02+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:21:07+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 625,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635850959841994264-jf-17-thunder-sino-pakistanjpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Air Warfare\",\n\t \"Asia Pacific\",\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Global\",\n\t \"Newsletters\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition? - Defense News\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635850959841994264-jf-17-thunder-sino-pakistanjpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2019-02-21T17:13:02+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:21:07+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"The JF-17 is under consideration alongside the Tejas, produced by India\u2019s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and the FA-50 Golden Eagle, made by South Korea\u2019s Korea Aerospace Industries.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635850959841994264-jf-17-thunder-sino-pakistanjpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/635850959841994264-jf-17-thunder-sino-pakistanjpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/21\\\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Air Warfare\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"air\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition?\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition? - Defense News","description":"The JF-17 is under consideration alongside the Tejas, produced by India\u2019s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and the FA-50 Golden Eagle, made by South Korea\u2019s Korea Aerospace Industries.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition?","og_description":"The JF-17 is under consideration alongside the Tejas, produced by India\u2019s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and the FA-50 Golden Eagle, made by South Korea\u2019s Korea Aerospace Industries.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2019-02-21T17:13:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T00:21:07+00:00","author":"Usman Ansari","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Usman Ansari","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition?","datePublished":"2019-02-21T17:13:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:21:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/"},"wordCount":625,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635850959841994264-jf-17-thunder-sino-pakistanjpg.jpg","articleSection":["Air Warfare","Asia Pacific","Daily News Roundup","Global","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/","name":"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition? - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635850959841994264-jf-17-thunder-sino-pakistanjpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-02-21T17:13:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:21:07+00:00","description":"The JF-17 is under consideration alongside the Tejas, produced by India\u2019s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and the FA-50 Golden Eagle, made by South Korea\u2019s Korea Aerospace Industries.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635850959841994264-jf-17-thunder-sino-pakistanjpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635850959841994264-jf-17-thunder-sino-pakistanjpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/02\/21\/how-does-pakistans-thunder-fare-against-contenders-in-malaysias-aircraft-competition\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Air Warfare","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/","ad_zone":"air"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How does Pakistan\u2019s Thunder fare against contenders in Malaysia\u2019s aircraft competition?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635850959841994264-jf-17-thunder-sino-pakistanjpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57871"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57880,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57871\/revisions\/57880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57871"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=57871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}