Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group

Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group

Type	State-owned
Industry	Defence
Founded	1990
Headquarters	Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Key people	Wang Guangya (Chairman)
Products	Military aircraft
Number of employees	20,000
Parent	Aviation Industry Corporation of China
Website	cac.avic.com

The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group or Chengdu Aerospace Corporation, a subsidiary of AVIC, is a Chinese aerospace conglomerate that designs and manufactures combat aircraft and is also a manufacturer of aircraft parts. It was founded in 1958 (as Chengdu State Aircraft Factory No.132 Aircraft Plant) in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China to be an aircraft supplier for the Chinese military.

The Chengdu Aerospace Corporation designed and now produces the Chengdu J-10 light-weight multi-role fighter that is considered to be one of the most advanced in China's inventory, as well as the CAC/PAC FC-1 Xiaolong (Chinese designation) (CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder is the Pakistani designation) very light-weight multi-role fighter that is produced in cooperation with Pakistan.

In April 1956 an agreement was signed by China with the Soviet Union which included assistance with China's aviation industry. This included the No. 132 fighter manufacturing plant construction project. Construction started on 18 October 1958 and was basically completed in October 1964. A total of 180 million yuan was invested, the plant covered 507.4 hectares and employed 10,485 people. The first J-5 fighter to be produced made a successful maiden flight in November 1964. The J-5 was then modified into a dual-seat model, the FT-5, whose maiden flight occurred in May 1966. The factory was also preparing to begin manufacture of the J-7. With the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966 the plant was put under military control until 1972.

With the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, the No. 132 factory began a new period of development and the facility's focus was slowly shifted to scientific research and production. The maiden flight of the J-7I occurred in March 1970 and in 1975 the J-7II was designed. It was decided that the J-7 required a comprehensive transformation of the plant. Until 1985 an 80,642 square meter workshop was built with new equipment and an annual production capacity of almost 200 J-7 fighters. In 1979 the No. 132 plant was introduced to the outside world as Chengdu Aircraft Company and began exporting military products as well as gradually providing products for civilian use, motorcycles for example. In 1982 the aviation industry of China began to be re-organised and CAC was one of the institutions to be focused on. During the process CAC was re-organised with the principle of "unified leadership and decentralised management".