India-Russia Defence Relations: Pakistan’s JF-17 fighter jet may be a Chinese fighter jet, but it relies on a Russian-made engine to fly. This fighter jet is powered by Russia’s RD-93MA engine. But now there may be a dispute between India and Russia over this engine. India has long been requesting Russia to supply this engine to Pakistan, but according to recent reports, ignoring India’s objections, Russia has decided to supply RD-93MA engines to Pakistan. These advanced powerplants, manufactured by Russia’s United Engine Corporation (UEC)-Klimov, are the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force’s most advanced JF-17 Thunder Block 3 fighter jet, jointly developed with China.
India had long appealed to Russia not to sell the engine to Pakistan, as it significantly increases the strength and modernization capabilities of the Pakistani Air Force. However, Moscow ignored India and decided to continue the engine supply. Some reports claim that India had also appealed to Russia to stop the engine supply after the recent India-Pakistan conflict.
The JF-17 is a 4.5-generation fighter jet that Pakistan is building indigenously with the help of China. The initial variants of this fighter jet, Block I and Block II, were often described as low-cost, medium-range fighters, but the Block III is an advanced fighter jet. This variant features AESA radar, helmet-mounted displays, advanced electronic warfare systems and Chinese-made PL-15 long-range missiles. Pakistan claims that the JF-17 fighter jet has capabilities similar to the Rafale and Sukhoi-30MKI. However, experts reject this claim. However, as the Sukhoi-30MKI is the mainstay of the Indian Air Force. Similarly, the JF-17 is the mainstay of the Pakistan Air Force. The Pakistani army has the largest fleet of JF-17 fighter jets.
India has consistently objected to the sale of Russian engines for Pakistani aircraft. India had objected in 2006 when the deal for the Russian engines was also inked. In 2006, India opposed Moscow’s decision to allow China to re-export the RD-93 engine to Pakistan. However, Russia argued at the time that it was selling the engine to China, not Pakistan directly. Russia has ignored threats to India in the past, and it has done so again.
