JF-17 Thunder
| 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
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A mock-up of the JF-17's early cockpit
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Other view of the early cockpit mock-up
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The PAC JF-17 Thunder (Urdu: جے ایف-١٧ گرج), or CAC FC-1 Xiaolong (Fierce Dragon; Chinese: 枭龙; pinyin: Xiāo Lóng), 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.
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