The first image of the JF-17 Block 3 ‘4+ generation’ fighter jet armed with a next generation air to air missile was released in the fourth week of April 2021, with a prototype of the fighter seen carrying two Chinese built PL-10 short range missiles. The new JF-17 fighter variant was first unveiled in December 2019 when it made its first flight, and the aircraft is expected to be jointly produced by China and Pakistan with the Pakistani Air Force being its primary client. The aircraft is visibly easy to distinguish from its smaller predecessors, and benefits from a radar cross section reducing airframe, a more powerful AESA radar and a new more powerful engine. The JF-17 Block 3’s new avionics suite, which include helmet mounted sights and heads up displays which are ahead of those of early fifth generation fighter models, and these are key to facilitating effective use of new more advanced classes of missile. The PL-10 is one of two next generation air to air missiles developed for a new generation of Chinese fighter jets - alongside the PL-15 which was designed for beyond visual range combat. The PL-15 is widely considered the most capable missile of its kind in the world, with its own AESA radar and an engagement range estimated at between 250 and 300km. Both missiles will be integrated on to the JF-17 Block 3, and have already been integrated onto China’s J-20, J-16 and J-10C fighters. The new missile will provide a major advantage over fighter units of neighbouring countries such as India and Iran at long ranges. The PL-10, meanwhile, is one of the world’s most capable short ranged air to air missiles, and upon entering service around 2015 it represented a marked improvement in performance over its predecessors with capabilities comfortably superseding Israeli and European competitors used by Pakistan's potential adversaries. The missile uses aerodynamic and thrust-vector control, which requires advanced helmet mounted cueing systems to exploit its extremely high manoeuvrability. The missile has the potential to heavily compensate for the JF-17’s low manoeuvrability at low speeds, which is a particularly serious weakness when facing India’s MiG-29 and Su-30 fighters which are among the most manoeuvrable in the world. With Pakistan expected to become the first client for the JF-17 Block 3, it could also become the first foreign operator of the PL-10 and PL-15.