"PAF has no plans to install Western devices and weapons on the aircraft for the time being," the newspaper quoted Suleman as saying.
Pakistan may also buy up to four Chinese surface-to-air missiles, as it seeks stronger cooperation with China to help upgrade its armed forces, Suleman told the China Daily in a separate interview.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual Zhuhai Air Show now under way in southern China.
Chinese defence experts played down the comments, saying any cooperation did not target any country and did not compare with deals adopted during a visit to India this month by US President Barack Obama, the China Daily said.
Among the deals struck during Obama's trip was a preliminary accord worth 4.1 billion dollars for India's air force to buy 10 C-17 transport aircraft from US aviation giant Boeing.
Pakistan had initially planned on arming its JF-17 fighters with missiles made by French firm Thales SA in a deal reportedly worth 1.2 billion euros (1.6 billion dollars).
But French officials confirmed to AFP in April the deal had been put on hold without explanation. The French daily Le Monde reported that it was cancelled to avoid damaging relations with Pakistan's nuclear rival India.
China is a strong ally of Pakistan and Islamabad draws heavily on Beijing for its defence and infrastructure needs.
Pakistan's air force has a fleet of Chinese aircraft, including F-7PGs and A-5s, but also US-built F-16s and French Mirages. The medium-tech JF-17 or Thunder jets, manufactured jointly with China, are a recent addition.
المواصفات العامه للصاروخ
- Length: 3.93 m (12.89 ft)
- Body diameter: 203 mm (8 in)
- Wing span: 670 mm
- Fin span: 752 mm
- Launch weight: 199 kg (438 lb)
- Warhead: HE fragmentation
- Fuse: Active proximity fuse
- Guidance: Inertial mid-course and/or datalink updates, with active radar terminal homing
- Propulsion: Solid dual-thrust rocket motor
- Maximum Range: 100 km[1]
- Minimum Range: 1 km
- Maximum g-force: > 38 g
- Maximum Altitude: 21 km
- Maximum Speed: > Mach 4
- No Escape Zone (NEZ): 45 km (look-up) or 35 km (look-down) against target with RCS of 3 sq. metres
LETRI SD-10/PL-12 “Sino-AMRAAM”
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While some confusion remains about designations, most sources identify the SD-10 and PL-12 as the same missile, China's equivalent to the AMRAAM. This weapon is in sizing and configuration very similar to the AIM-120A, but employs a unique tail planform. Equipped with an active radar seeker, and datalink aided inertial midcourse guidance, this missile is a credible player against the AMRAAM and R-77 series. The indigenous AMR-1 active seeker is identified with the PL-12, and numerous reports exist claiming that it is a derivative of the Russian Agat 9B-1348E seeker package used in the R-77 series. The missile is widely credited with superior range performance to the AIM-120A-C variants.
The production status of the PL-12 is unclear, but the missile has been claimed as a future weapon for the indigenous J-10 fighter and the Su-27SK and Su-30, replacing imported R-77s on the latter. The missile has been photographed on the J-10A, J-10S and J-11B.
A variant with an all aspect infrared seeker may exist, analogous to Russian heatseeking variants of the R-27 / AA-10 Alamo and R-77 / AA-12 Adder.
There is little doubt that the PL-12 closes most of the technology gap between Chinese built BVR missiles, and in service Western BVR missiles.
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Radome of PL-12 / SD-10A on display at Zhuhai 2008 (image © 2009, Zhenguan Studio).
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Tail section of PL-12 / SD-10A on display at Zhuhai 2008 (image © 2009, Zhenguan Studio)
