JF-17 Thunder FC-1 Xiaolong |
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JF-17 Block 1 | |
Role | Multirole combat aircraft |
National origin | China / Pakistan |
Manufacturer | Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group / Pakistan Aeronautical Complex |
First flight | 25 August 2003 |
Introduction | 12 March 2007 |
Status | In service |
Primary user | Pakistan Air Force |
Produced | In China: June 2007 – present In Pakistan: January 2008 – present |
Number built | 86+ |
Program cost | US$500 million |
Unit cost |
Block 1: US$~25 million
Block 2: US$ ~28 million Block 3: US$ ~32 million (Planned) |
The glass cockpit of a JF-17 simulator | |
A mock-up of the JF-17's early cockpit | |
Other view of the early cockpit mock-up |
The PAC JF-17 Thunder (Urdu: جے ایف-١٧ گرج), or CAC FC-1 Xiaolong (Chinese: 枭龙; pinyin: Xiāo Lóng; literally: "Fierce Dragon"), is a lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China. The JF-17 can be used for aerial reconnaissance, ground attack and aircraft interception. Its designation "JF-17" by Pakistan is short for "Joint Fighter-17", while the designation and name "FC-1 Xiaolong" by China means "Fighter China-1 Fierce Dragon".
The JF-17 can deploy diverse ordnance, including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, and a 23 mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel . Powered by a Guizhou WS-13 or Klimov RD-93 afterburning turbofan it has a top speed of Mach 1.6. The JF-17 is to become the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), complementing the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon whose performance it roughly matches, at half the cost. The PAF inducted its first JF-17 squadron in February 2010 and as of December 2015, 49 JF-17 Thunder Aircraft were in service with 50 additional airframes ordered, of which 17 have been delivered.