France Discussing Missile, Radar Provision with Pakistan
An official at the French Defense Ministry announced on the 26th February that France is involved in discussions on supplying advanced radar and missile systems to the joint Pakistani/Chinese JF-17 military combat aircraft.
According to military analysts, if a contract were to be signed, the likes of Taiwan and the US would likely object on the grounds of China possibly gaining from the sensitive data that France would provide to the JF-17 programme.
The French Defense Ministry's Bruno Berthet stated that such concerns are being considered.
JF-17 Aircraft Could be Equipped with MBDA Missiles, Thales Radar
It is understood that the potential deal would involve missiles supplied by MBDA, while Thales would supply the radars.
Talks so far "...are on the right track, and there are diplomatic comings and goings between the two countries", Berthet advised news agency AP.
Berthet's comments were made at the scene of a press conference, during which French Defense Procurement Agency head, Francois Lureau, highlighted how France gained around $8.18bn from export defence contracts in 2007.
Taiwan has a fleet of French-made Mirage 2000 fighter jets, equipped with missiles made by MBDA, as well as radar comparable to that produced by Thales. Such weapons systems, according to a report published by Janes Defense Weekly last year, might be compromised should Pakistan pass information on to China.
Regarding the issue of giving away sensitive information, Berthet said that the US had not put on the pressure, but conceded that discussions between officials in France and the US on the topic of "export principles" had taken place.
"On the fighter plane, the French position is more ambitious than the American position", he said.
"Reciprocally, I note that the Americans export a certain amount of night-vision gear for Pakistan's land forces - which seems to us sensitive for other reasons."
The JF-17 is a joint product of Pakistan's PAC (Pakistan Aeronautical Complex) and China's CAC (Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation).
A single-seat multi-mission fighter aircraft, it first flew in 2003, and initial examples for the Pakistan Air Force were delivered in March last year.
Source - Armed Forces International's European Correspondent
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