Arabia

The Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder has emerged as a surprise candidate for Saudi Arabia’s next fighter jet, according to a recent report. While a mutual defense pact signed with Pakistan would help open the door to the transfer of JF-17s to Saudi Arabia, the fighter faces very strong competition. Furthermore, it isn’t clear if the Saudis even would want a light fighter like this at all, especially considering it could cause a rift with the U.S. at a critical time. In the past months, the kingdom has been offered the U.S.-made F-35, as you can read about here, and has been linked with several other multirole fighters.

According to a report today from Reuters, talks are now underway between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, with a view to the kingdom obtaining an undisclosed number of JF-17s. These would be paid for by converting some of the billions of dollars of Saudi loans taken out by Islamabad, a sign of the deepening relationship between the two countries, including at a military level. The report cites two different Pakistani sources, one of whom says the talks are limited to the JF-17, while the other claims that the jets are the “primary option,” but that different military equipment could also be made available.

Reportedly, the deal would be worth $4 billion in terms of offsetting the loan, while Saudi Arabia would also spend $2 billion on top of that.

This week, Pakistan’s Air Chief Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu was in Saudi Arabia to discuss what the Pakistani military described as “bilateral defense cooperation, the regional security environment, and future avenues of collaboration” with his Saudi counterpart, Lieutenant General Turki bin Bander bin Abdulaziz.

The JF-17 was developed jointly by China’s Chengdu and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), and the first prototype took to the air in 2003. The aircraft is powered by a single Russian-designed RD-93 turbofan engine, an improved version of the RD-33 that is found in the twin-engined MiG-29 Fulcrum.

The Thunder has been steadily improved since the first series-built JF-17s began to come off the PAC line at its Kamra facility in 2008. After the first 50 JF-17s were delivered to Pakistan, production switched to the enhanced JF-17 Block 2 version, with improved avionics, strengthened wing roots for additional stores carriage, and an in-flight refueling probe, among other changes.

The latest Block 3 version of the jet has an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, as well as an improved fly-by-wire flight-control system, infrared search and track system, helmet-mounted display, and a larger holographic wide-angle head-up display for the pilot.

Pakistan Air Force JF-17 participates in Virtual Air Tattoo 2021

In terms of performance and specifications, the Block 2 version has a maximum takeoff weight of a little over 27,000 pounds, a maximum speed of Mach 1.6, and an unrefueled range of 840 miles. It can carry 3,300 pounds of stores carried on seven external hardpoints. This puts it broadly in the same class as the Saab Gripen C/D.

The unclassified version of an annual Pentagon report to Congress on China’s military stated that, as of May 2024, the JF-17 had been sold to Azerbaijan, Burma, and Nigeria — as well as Pakistan. The report also says that, as of 2024, negotiations were underway regarding a possible JF-17 transfer to Iraq.

That same story stressed heavily the growing presence of the JF-17, as well as other Chinese-made fighters, on the export market, as you can read more about here.

Last month, Pakistan reportedly struck a weapons deal worth more than $4 billion with the Libyan National Army, which is also said to include JF-17. Additionally, Pakistan has held talks with Bangladesh on the possible sale of the same jets.

As for Saudi Arabia, the claimed interest in the JF-17 comes after it signed a mutual defense pact with Pakistan last September. This is the latest development in a long-running security partnership between the two nations, which has seen extensive provision of defense equipment to the kingdom, as well as training.

“The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both,” the office of the Pakistani prime minister said in a statement about the pact. This raised questions of whether the Pakistani nuclear umbrella might even be extended to protect Saudi Arabia, too.

For its part, Saudi Arabia has regularly provided Pakistan with economic support. In 2018, Riyadh agreed on a support package for its ally that included a loan worth $6 billion. Since then, it has allowed Islamabad to defer payments.

Were it to happen, a deal involving JF-17s and potentially other arms could help balance the books between the countries.

While the JF-17 is less advanced than other fighters that Saudi Arabia has been looking at buying, most notably the F-35, the Thunder’s status has been enhanced by claims of its performance during Pakistan’s clashes with India last year. Pakistan has long pitched the JF-17 as a cheaper and more sustainable fighter option, but now it is combat-proven too, although the results of its performance against the Indian Air Force are hard to verify.

Last month, it became clear that the Trump administration intended to sell up to 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia, which marked a significant policy shift. Previously, Washington had been unwilling to export these jets to Arab states in the region, for fear of upsetting the strategic balance in relation to Israel — also an F-35 operator.

As we noted at the time:

Even without the F-35, the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) operates an extremely modern and advanced fleet of fighters. It received 84 of the new-build F-15SA, which was the most advanced variant of the Strike Eagle family available until the appearance of the Qatari F-15QA and the U.S. Air Force’s F-15EX Eagle II. Meanwhile, the 68-strong fleet of earlier F-15S aircraft has been upgraded locally to a similar standard, known as F-15SR (for Saudi Retrofit).

The RSAF also received 72 Eurofighter Typhoons. Older, but still capable, are around 80 British-supplied Panavia Tornado IDS swing-wing strike aircraft, which continue in service in the strike role.

Other fighters have been linked with a sale to Saudi Arabia, as it seeks to further boost its fighter fleet.

For a long time, more Typhoons were seen as the most likely option, but a potential deal has been frustrated by Germany — which has a stake in Eurofighter via the German arm of Airbus — which has consistently blocked further sales of the jets to Saudi Arabia, citing human rights concerns.

Saudi Arabia also entered talks to buy 54 Dassault Rafale multirole fighters, as we reported back in 2023.

More recently, Boeing confirmed that it was offering the F-15EX Eagle II to Saudi Arabia.

The JF-17 is far less capable than these options, but it is not irrelevant, especially in its Block 3 version with AESA radar and Chinese-made PL-15 air-to-air missiles.

At the same time, the Thunder would be a far less expensive option and could be acquired in greater numbers, creating a high-low force mix.

Still, the idea that Saudi Arabia would actually be interested in Pakistan’s proposal seems remote due to multiple factors.

Whether the JF-17 could be operated alongside the F-35 is highly questionable, on the grounds that its sensitive technologies might be exposed to Chinese intelligence. On the other hand, even without the JF-17, Saudi Arabia has long been a customer of Chinese-made defense equipment, including drones and ballistic missiles. But these are not fighter platforms with sensors that can give away critical capabilities, as well as weapon systems that need highly integrated tactics across a force in order to be effective. The very idea that a deal like this could even threaten the long-awaited acquisition of the F-35 seems to disqualify it on its face.

There is also the question of why Saudi Arabia would even want this aircraft when they have access to far more capable fighters that accommodate the weapons and networks their force already uses? A high-low mix may hold some relevance, but we have seen no indication that Saudi Arabia believes this to be the case.

It also comes at a time of extremely close ties between the kingdom and the U.S., with the Trump administration seeing Saudi Arabia as a top ally and economic partner. Risking that for a cheap fighter aircraft seems remote.

At the same time, Islamabad sees arms sales, including to non-traditional clients, as critical to helping address its economic troubles.

“Our aircraft have been tested, and we are receiving so many orders that Pakistan may not need the International Monetary Fund in six months,” Pakistani Minister of Defense Khawaja Asif recently told local media.

However, as has been the case in earlier Saudi procurements, the most important dimension in selecting a new fighter may well be the political one.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry has welcomed a request from Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) for a forum in Riyadh to resolve a deadly factional rift in the country’s south that has stoked armed conflict there and triggered tensions between Gulf Arab nations.

In a statement on Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry called on southern factions to participate in the forum in the Saudi capital to “formulate a comprehensive vision for fair solutions to the southern cause”.

Earlier on Saturday, PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi appealed to the different groups and figures in southern Yemen to come together for a meeting in Riyadh, according to Saba News Agency.

Saba quoted al-Alimi as underlining the “justness and centrality of the southern cause” and “rejected any unilateral or exclusionary solutions” to resolve the ongoing conflict.

Deadly tensions have erupted in recent days, after the separatist group Southern Transitional Council (STC) launched a major offensive in Yemen’s Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces, which make up nearly half of Yemen’s territory.

Oil-producing Hadramout borders Saudi Arabia, and many prominent Saudis trace their origins to the province, lending it cultural and historical significance for the kingdom. Its capture by the STC last month was regarded by the Saudis as a threat.

The STC is part of the anti-Houthi coalition in Yemen’s south. But it is said to harbour plans to carve out its own nation in southern Yemen, causing conflict with its partner, the internationally recognised Yemeni government led by the PLC.

The Saudis have accused its coalition partner, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of arming the STC, whose military operation is now threatening to split Yemen into three, while also posing problems to Riyadh’s own national security.

The UAE has denied those allegations, insisting that it supports Saudi Arabia’s security.

In a statement on Saturday, the UAE expressed its “deep concern” over the ongoing escalation and called on the Yemenis “to prioritise wisdom and exercise restraint to ensure security and stability in the country”.

The Saudi-backed coalition was formed in 2015 in an attempt to dislodge the Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen’s north.

But after a brutal, decade-long civil war, the Houthis remain in place while the Saudi and Emirati-backed factions attack each other in the south.

On Friday, air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition killed 20 people, according to the STC.

Late on Friday, the UAE announced the return of all Emirati armed forces personnel from Yemen, signalling a possible detente with Saudi Arabia.

The UAE’s defence ministry said that the withdrawal of its forces from Yemen is in accordance with its decision “to conclude the remaining missions of counter-terrorism units”.

“The process has been conducted in a manner that ensured the safety of all personnel and carried out in coordination with all relevant partners,” the ministry said in a statement published on the Emirates News Agency website.

Amid the UAE’s announcement of a withdrawal, the STC unilaterally declared that it aims to hold a referendum on independence from the north in two years.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, former Yemeni diplomat and parliament member Ali Ahmed al-Amrani, however, dismissed the idea of secession as a solution to the Yemeni crisis, saying it “does not reflect a national consensus”.

Meanwhile, Hisham Al-Omeisy, a political and conflict analyst focusing on Yemen with the European Institute of Peace, warned that if not resolved, the latest violence in the south could mark the start of a dangerous new phase in the war, with rival forces seeking to reshape control on the ground.

“We’re going to be basically seeing a bloody conflict, at least in the coming few days, to draw a new map in the south,” he added.

“This is prolonged fighting,” Al-Omeisy told Al Jazeera, describing a situation in which “warring factions are trying to gain territory and secure the upper hand.

“This is a proxy war within a proxy war,” he said, adding that the consequences could extend far beyond Yemen’s borders.

Saudi-backed Hadramout governor says move under way to ‘peacefully’ take over military sites from STC.

Fighting broke out on Friday in Yemen’s Hadramout province that borders Saudi Arabia, between forces loyal to the region’s Saudi-backed governor and the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC).

The STC accused Saudi Arabia of bombing its forces near the border on Friday.

Seven people were killed and than 20 people were also wounded as seven air strikes hit a camp in Al-Khasah, said Mohammed Abdulmalik, head of the STC in Wadi Hadramaut and Hadramaut Desert.

But Hadramout’s governor Salem al-Khanbashi said on Friday that the efforts to take back bases from the STC were meant to “peacefully and systematically” reclaim military sites in Yemen’s southern province.

“The operation is not a declaration of war or an escalation, but rather a precautionary measure to protect security and prevent chaos,” he said in a statement.

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Al Attab, reporting from Sanaa, said fighting was reported to be taking place on Friday in positions where STC forces are located along the Saudi border.

But, he added, “we are still waiting for confirmation about what is going on there,” saying that the latest information available from the area suggested the STC had maintained control of its positions.

The outbreak in fighting comes after Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said it ‍had appointed al-Khanbashi to take overall command of the National Shield forces in the eastern province, granting him full military, security and administrative authority in what it said was a move to restore security and order.

Saudi Arabia and the internationally recognised Yemeni government that it backs have accused the United Arab Emirates of arming the STC and pushing it to seize parts of the Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces in southern Yemen last month. Riyadh has warned that it views the STC’s growing presence in these provinces — which border Saudi Arabia — as a threat to its national security. The UAE has rejected these allegations and said that it is committed to Saudi Arabia’s security.

Last week, the UAE said it was pulling its remaining forces out of Yemen after Saudi Arabia backed a call for its forces to leave within 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the STC are all part of a military coalition that Riyadh pulled together a decade ago to confront the Houthis. But the STC’s increasingly aggressive secessionist acts, and allegations that the UAE is assisting the group, have fostered tensions within the coalition.

The head of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, warned against any attempt to oppose the government’s decisions to prevent the country from sliding into a new cycle of violence.

“The decision to end the Emirati military presence came within the framework of correcting the course of the [coalition] and in coordination with its joint leadership, and in a way that ensures the cessation of any support for elements outside the state,” al-Alimi said in a statement.

Tensions escalate

The STC has insisted its fighters will remain in place in the southern provinces that Saudi Arabia and the official Yemeni government want them to withdraw from.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen blamed STC leader Aidarus al-Zubaidi for refusing to grant landing permission the previous day for a plane carrying a Saudi delegation to Aden.

“For several weeks and until yesterday, ‌the Kingdom sought to make all efforts with the Southern Transitional ⁠Council to end the escalation … but it faced continuous rejection and stubbornness from Aidarus Al-Zubaidi,” the Saudi ambassador, Mohammed Al-Jaber, said on X.

A halt in flights at Aden International Airport ‌on Thursday continued into Friday as both sides traded blame for the air traffic shutdown.

In a statement on Thursday, the STC-controlled Transport Ministry accused Saudi Arabia of imposing an air blockade, saying Riyadh required ‍all flights to go via Saudi Arabia for extra checks. A Saudi Arabian source, however, denied the allegation, saying Yemen’s internationally recognised government, led by the Presidential Leadership Council, was behind the requirement for UAE-bound flights to land for inspection in Jeddah.

Yemeni presidential adviser Thabet al-Ahmadi confirmed to Al Jazeera that it had imposed a requirement that applied to one flight route departing from Aden airport. He said the move was meant to prevent STC money smuggling.

The separatist Southern Transitional Council accuses Saudi Arabia of bombing its forces near the border.

Dec. 26 (UPI) — Saudi Arabia has reportedly fired on the eastern Hadramout province in Yemen.

The Southern Transitional Council, a separatist group in Yemen, claims that the Saudis fired warning airstrikes at its forces.

The STC seized two oil-rich provinces in December. The group is backed by the United Arab Emirates. It released a video showing the airstrikes that it said were close to its positions in Wadi Nahab in the Hadramaut province.

The strikes haven’t been independently verified.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday made a diplomatic appeal urging the STC to abandon Hadramaut and al-Mahra, which it recently captured . The strikes would be the first military action by Saudi Arabia since that plea.

“The kingdom remains hopeful that the public interest will prevail through ending the escalation by the Southern Transitional Council and the withdrawal of its forces from the two governorates in an urgent and orderly manner,” Saudi Arabia said in a statement on Thursday.

“The kingdom stresses the importance of cooperation among all Yemeni factions and components to exercise restraint and avoid any measures that could destabilize security and stability, which may result in undesirable consequences,” the statement said.

On Thursday, there were large demonstrations in the port city of Aden calling for STC President Aidarous al-Zubaidi to declare independence from Yemen. The U.N. and several other gulf states back Yemen and want it to stay whole. The United States hasn’t taken a side.

The Houthis have controlled the northern areas of Yemen since 2015.

BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 19 (UPI) — Argentina has formally created the Secretariat of Nuclear Affairs, a significant structural shift in the country’s national energy strategy under President Javier Milei, aimed at positioning Argentina as a global energy leader and attracting large-scale investment.

In announcing the move, the government highlighted the country’s strengths for developing a nuclear plan, including its pool of highly trained human capital and vast, low-temperature lands in Patagonia seen as suitable for hosting artificial intelligence data centers. These advantages, officials said, allow for a combination of clean nuclear energy and cutting-edge technology.

The plan will roll out in stages. The first phase involves building small modular reactors, or SMRs, at the Atucha Nuclear Power Plant site, already underway, to ensure nationwide energy supply and reduce power outages.

SMRs produce stable and low-cost electricity, making them well-suited to power AI data centers, and would position Argentina as a regional hub for digital innovation and nuclear energy exports.

In the second phase, the government plans to develop uranium reserves to meet domestic demand and turn Argentina into an exporter of high-value nuclear fuels.

The Economy Ministry summed up the strategy in a recent statement, saying the government aims to “turn Argentina into the ‘Saudi Arabia of uranium.'”

This ambitious goal is based on the country’s uranium reserves, estimated at 36,483 tons identified and concentrated in provinces such as Mendoza, San Juan and Chubut, according to a report by the National Mining Secretariat.

Those reserves could generate significant export volumes and position Argentina as a key supplier in a growing global market driven by the energy transition.

However, physicist Alberto Baruj urged caution.

“Argentina has enough uranium for its reactors for decades. It does not have the extraordinary reserves found in other countries. Talking about being the Saudi Arabia of uranium is an exaggeration that I cannot support from a technical standpoint,” Baruj told UPI.

Baruj said Argentina could export uranium, thanks to its processing capacity. However, “it makes no sense to do so with raw ore. It would be far more convenient to process it for use in domestic reactors, including small modular reactors such as the domestically designed CAREM.”

The new nuclear institutional framework will also be tasked with leading policy on the exploitation of rare earth elements, minerals critical for batteries, cellphones and green technology, as well as nuclear minerals, in coordination with other government agencies.

It will promote collaboration among mining companies, provincial governments and private actors to increase production of these resources and drive investment, working alongside the Mining Secretariat to advance nuclear mining projects, material processing and technological applications.

“The Secretariat of Nuclear Affairs is taking on roles that previously belonged to the National Atomic Energy Commission, which blurs the agency’s place within the institutional structure,” a respected nuclear sector source who requested anonymity told UPI.

In their view, amid a budget crisis at the commission, the creation of a new body “further endangers what has historically been the center of Argentina’s nuclear activity. The inclusion of rare earth exploitation comes as a surprise within a nuclear affairs secretariat.”

Baruj also questioned the need for the new agency, saying its stated purpose, coordinating the nuclear sector, already falls by law under the National Atomic Energy Commission.

“It is possible that with the creation of the Secretariat, the government is seeking greater political control over the sector,” Baruj said. But, he added, creating a new secretariat is unnecessary if each institution fulfilled its assigned role.

“The massive loss of technical personnel with extraordinary capabilities must be reversed. But above all, the salary issue must be resolved, because the commission pays the lowest wages in the entire science and technology sector,” he said.

Baruj said the priority should be to ensure continuity of key projects such as completion of the RA-10 multipurpose reactor, its associated neutron beam laboratory, the CEARP Proton Therapy Center and the heavy water industrial plant.

“Argentina’s nuclear sector has sufficient capacity and depth to take on and carry out these projects. What is lacking, precisely, is political will,” he said.Based o