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Deferred / structured payments (multi-year tranches, commodities, or budget support),
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Third-party facilitation (friendly states underwriting or smoothing payments),
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Debt-linked restructuring (conversion of liabilities into procurement, training, and sustainment).
Reporting explicitly mentions the possibility of Saudi facilitation—not Saudi replacement of its own frontline Western fleets. This is about bankrolling allied regimes’ stability, not swapping F-15s for JF-17s.
4) “It’s all Chinese anyway” — the lazy argument
Yes, key subsystems originate in China. That does not invalidate Pakistan’s role.
Facts:
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The JF-17 is a co-development; export execution is Pakistan-led.
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China does not independently market the platform to third countries without Pakistan.
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Revenue sharing, integration, training, MRO, and weapons packages are delivered through Pakistan’s defence ecosystem.
By that logic, no country could claim indigenous status:
India’s BrahMos (Russia), S-400 (Russia), Tejas engine (US/EU). Yet branding follows prime integrator, not raw component origin.
For deeper technical context, see:
