Defence

The Chengdu Aircraft/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (CAC/PAC)FC-1/JF-17 made its first flight on 24 August. The 17min flight comes after years of delay, and it is thought an avionics suite has yet to be chosen for the Pakistani JF-17 - previously Super 7 - variant, with Galileo and Thales in the running. Most observers believe Pakistan's aircraft will have the FIAR Grifo S7 radar, already in licence production in Pakistan. Reports, however, suggest at least one prototype will be equipped with an Elta EL/M-2032. It is also not clear whether the prototype was powered by the intended Klimov RD-93. Chengdu is thought to have built four prototypes with the second aircraft being used at CAC for static load testing. Pakistan requires around 150 aircraft.