China will hand over 50 multi-role combat aircraft to Pakistan, it was reported here on Thursday. Pakistan will get the 50 JF-17 Thunder aircraft "in weeks", Dawn quoted an official as saying in Beijing where Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is on a four-day trip that takes places shortly after Osama bin Laden was killed by US commandos in Abbottabad on May 2.
The official said Pakistan and China were jointly producing the JF-17 aircraft, but the 50 fighter jets would have more sophisticated avionics. He said the aircraft would be fully funded by China and it would help bolster Pakistan’s defence and add to the tactical capability of the Pakistan Air Force.