Defence analysts in Pretoria and London were scratching their heads at a reported decision by Zimbabwe to buy 12 Chinese FC1 fighter jets, an aircraft still under development.
Opposition Movement for Democratic Change MP Giles Mutsekwa said at the weekend that the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) had secretly ordered 12 of the fighters and about 100 military vehicles at a cost estimated at US$200-million.
The acquisition apparently bypassed the state procurement board. It was not clear from the reports, since denied by the ruling Zanu-PF, where the funding for the planes and vehicles would come from, as the ZDF’s budget allocation was only about Z$815-billion (about US$136-million, R870-million), of which 69% is for remuneration and the rest for operations.
The Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said, if true, the reports made one wonder about the sustainability and affordability of the aircraft.
”Looking at the present state of their economy and the value of their monetary unit, one questions whether it is affordable or how they will pay for it, if it is true,” ISS defence analyst Len le Roux said.
He also questioned the requirement for the aircraft, saying parties to the Southern African Development Community’s Mutual Defence Pact had an obligation to move towards buying similar or at least compatible equipment.
On the face of it, this was a purchase motivated by national rather than regional needs — and the exact national need was also not clear.
”One also has to question the sustainability of the purchase. It is one thing to buy an aircraft, it is another to operate and maintain it,” Le Roux said.
Andrew Brookes, aerospace analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said the FC1, called the ”Fierce Dragon” (Xiaolong) by the Chinese, would only be operational by 2006, contradicting reports that the first six of the dozen aircraft ordered would arrive in Zimbabwe last week.
”It is a potent, modern fighter. But we are not talking cutting-edge technology here, rather last generation (Generation Three) reverse-engineered technology. It’s still very good, however.
”The question again is whether they could fly and maintain them. They already have some good aircraft and could probably make the transition,” Brookes added.
”Quite a few African countries are currently buying modern aircraft. Most, however, have to bring in expatriate Ukrainians to fly and maintain them.”
Brookes added that the Chinese and Pakistanis — who were developing the aircraft — would also want nothing but hard currency for the deal.
The FC1, called the Joint Fighter 17 (JF-17) ”Thunder” by Pakistan, is a joint venture between the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation and the Pakistani Aeronautical Complex.
It is scheduled to enter initial production in 2006 when 16 are to be built.
Russia’s Mikoyan Aero-Science Production Group are providing assistance in some design work as well as its RD-93 turbofan engine to power the aircraft.
Three prototypes are currently flying.
The first FC-1 rolled out from the assembly line on May 31 last year and made a 15-minute maiden flight on August 24.
Its manufacturers hope it will replace old second-generation fighters such as the Northrop F-5 Tiger, the Dassault Mirage III/5, the Shenyang J-6, the MiG-21/F-7 Fishbed, and the Nanchang Q-5 aircraft in air forces around the world.
They are marketing it as a lightweight, single seat, single engine, high-performance, multirole attack fighter aircraft featuring fly-by-wire flight-control, beyond-vision-range combat capability and much improved aerodynamic performance. It is being priced at US$15-million (R96-million) apiece. – Sapa