Without doubt one of the most highly anticipated low-cost fighters today. Editor Alan Warnes of AFM wrote that the FC-1 would have a revolutionary effect on third world air forces.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1677171&C=america
China Close To Testing New Prototype of Combat Jet Co-Developed with Pakistan
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING
China is close to testing a new prototype of the FC-1 Xiaolong combat jet jointly developed with Pakistan, about a year behind the initial schedule, state media said April 9.
The fourth prototype of the Xiaolong aircraft, a multi-role fighter-bomber with a range of 1,200 kilometers (750 miles), will take to the air “in the near future,” the Beijing News reported.
The aircraft, also known as the JF-17, is a cooperative project between the Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Group in the southwest province of Sichuan and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.
While earlier prototypes have focused on operational flight capabilities, the fourth prototype is expected especially to test the weapons fit.
The plane is capable of carrying multiple air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, according to the paper.Earlier reports had said the fourth prototype would have its maiden flight in April 2005. No explanation was provided in the April 9 report for the apparent delay.
And a good time to bring back those giant FC-1 threads from the heady days of September 2003, when prototype 01 flew.
The FC-1 threads were the first of the mega-threads (each spanning over 20 pages and literally thousands of posts and pictures.)
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15234&page=1
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=24155&page=1
Peruse the archives at your leisure as we wait for more from Chengdu. This time with the radically changed DSI prototype 04.
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April 11, 2006 at 3:05 am