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World Defense & Security News - Pakistan & Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka and Pakistan reportedly signed MoU for the sale of eight JF-17 Thunder fighters
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According to local medias, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have reportedly signed an agreement under which Sri Lanka will purchase eight JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft. The agreement is part of several memorandum of understanding (MoUs) inked between Pakistan and Sri Lanka during Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s three-day visit to the island earlier today.
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 A PAF PAC JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft |
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According to the agreement, Pakistan will sale eight JF-17 war planes to Sri Lanka in the first phase. Sale of JF-17 multi-role jet fighters was one of the subjects to be discussed with Sri Lankan leadership, diplomatic sources said.
India had warned Sri Lanka against dealing with Pakistan, urging it to procure its fighter jets instead, according to highly placed diplomatic sources. Without naming anyone, they said two Indian high-ups had threatened a Sri Lankan official over the telephone to not sign the aircraft deal with Pakistan. Failing to do so, they warned, India would cancel the $400 million loan for Colombo port city project. However, the Sri Lanka government reportedly refused the offer saying Indian air force itself was not using the aircraft they were offering them to purchase. On December 30 last year, the PAC Chairman Air Marshal Javaid Ahmed informed the country's National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence Production that the complex had achieved a milestone in Pakistan’s aviation history by endogenously manufacturing 16 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets during 2015. The Chairman PAC said that the production and manufacturing of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets would be enhanced to 20 per year from 2016. |
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