calm down Cheeta Ji. As I said, we should be humble about our capabilities instead of f@rting and "door ki chorain".
Any airplane can be looked at as 3 parts. Avionics, frame, engine. In case of fighter/bombers a fourth part aka weapon-delivery system+weapons is also there.
Every developed country who truly "manufactures" a war-plane, specializes in at least three of these areas and in most cases all 4.
So when a country A claims to "manufacture" a plane, we should see how good that country is in making at their own:
- Avionics
- air frame
- engine
- weapons + weapon delivery system.
CAC makes cheap imitations of Ruskie systems for the air-frame. Then they buy/smuggle Avionics, engines, weapon-delivery systems. Chinese can make crude versions of modern air-platform based weapons too.
Pakistan buys the air frame from China, then it is upto Pakistan to buy/smuggle Avionics, engines, weapon-delivery systems and weapons.
Some of these systems can be bought from Chines, sometimes we get lucky with European systems (like air-to-sea missiles), and sometimes we legally buy them from the USA (things like side winders, or tow for our gunships).
In essence Pakistan has the capability to take apart and assemble air plane kits. And that's what we do in PIA's boeing overhaul factory in Karachi too. Or in Kamra for the Chinese, US, and Euro made planes.
Still Pakistan is not fully capable of overhauling / upgrading our planes. Example: Turkish company is overhauling/upgrading all our old model F-16s.
So just keep the expectations realistic. Pakistan has not gone to aerospace age yet.
We can, but we ought to be humble, peaceful, and good students of real developed countries, just like Chinese are "very good students" of the USA / EU.
You gotta go and learn from the best (and not the ones who are students /trainees themselves).
PAF is always humble in quoting its capabilities infact boasting is not PAF style at all,surprise on the other hand is its main weapon.
Coming to aircraft manufactirung,its not just 3/4 part that are required in designing and manufacturing an aircraft,there is cockpit,EW,ECM ,fuel system and what not,long list.The countries that develop own planes usually contract other firms to design and manufacture systems of the plane.Everything is not made under roof,just assembling.
CAC doesnt make cheap imitations of Russia,and the best example being J-7(F-7)(copy of russian Mig-21) which forms the backbone of PAF along with Mirage3/5.Compare that with Mig-21 of IAF,and the stats of crashes will tell the story itself.
Buying(/smuggling) avionics is same as contracting aviation firms(e.g. Dassault,Lockheed Martin,Boeing etc) which all the countries in the world do.so pakistan is doing what normally goes on around already.Sometimes the firms are hired maybe from other country,which is seen rarely in developed countries as they have own infrastructure present.In case of Pakistan,mostly Chinese companies and a few Pakistani firms are working on the JF-17.
Pakistan is fully capable of upgrading and over hauling the fighter aircrafts in PAF inventory,e.g.Mirage rebuild factory etc.In case of F-16,USA didnt allow a full TOT(tranfer of tech) to Pakistan as it did to Turkey so thats the reason F-16 will be MLU'ed by Turkey.
Bear in mind that the most difficult thing is making a powerplant,an engine.If the technology is present in the market,and is reliable,its picked up and used.Wheel doesnt need to be re-invented coz that will cost more to start from scratch.JF-17 will use RD-93 engine for first 50 aircraft and then WS-13 engine will be used for the later 2 batches.
Manufacturing of JF-17 in Pakistan is very laudable,because this is the first 4th gen aircraft being manufactured in Pakistan.India has had experience of this before with Jaguar.As JF-17 has been designed according to PAF specs,thus the need for upgradation will be there and that will be again be carried out in Pakistani facilities.so PAF is actually utilizing the time and resources in the best way it can to maximize the potential and performance of JF-17.