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Pakistan supplying Sri Lanka with fighter aircraft

Sri Lanka is to procure JF-17 combat aircraft from Pakistan.

By Richard Tomkins
The JF-17 being acquired by Sri Lanka is produced by both Pakistan and China. Pakistan Air Force photo
The JF-17 being acquired by Sri Lanka is produced by both Pakistan and China. Pakistan Air Force photo

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Sri Lanka is to buy eight JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft from Pakistan under an agreement signed during a state visit to the country by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The Sri Lanka Sunday Times newspaper reported the deal is part a number of agreements in the areas of defense, security, anti-terrorism, trade and technology.

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The JF-17 Thunder is a single-engine multi-role jet fighter jointly developed and produced by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China's Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. It has a maximum speed of about 1,200 miles per hour.

Details of Sri Lanka's procurement of the planes were not disclosed in the report.

According to the newspaper Prime Minister Nawaz said during a signing ceremony that Pakistan is ready to give Sri Lanka favored nation trading status, which could be worth as much as $1 billion in trade annually.

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