Chengdu JF-17 Thunder (FC-1 Xiaolong) Lightweight Multirole Fighter (2010)
Authored By Dan Alex | Last Updated: 11/7/2012
The CAC / PAC JF-17 Thunder was conceived of as a low-cost export option marketed to developing nations.
The FC-1/JF-17 lightweight multirole combat fighter platform was developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex to produce a cost-effective, multi-faceted airframe using latest avionics and weapons packages specific to Pakistani Air Force requirements - essentially a "budget fighter" with modern capabilities. Pakistan had already employed several Chinese-originated Cold War-era aircraft in its stable but the peak for these aircraft had since come and gone, thusly providing an opportunity to see an all-new solution. While many of the cutting edge, 5th Generation Fighters proved well beyond the scope of internal development and procurement, the joint development heading a semi-indigenous Pakistani fighter fit the bill well for those parties involved.
Pakistan had the need and drive while China provided the means and experience of years in re engineering and producing Soviet/Russian technology locally. The FC-1/JF-17 can trace its evolution back to the Soviet-era Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 of which Chinese industry evolved on many levels.
As such, the FC-1 Xiaolong ("Fierce Dragon")/JF-17 ("Thunder") initiative was born - the former being the Chinese designation while the latter being the Pakistani designation. The joint program began loosely in 1998 and came to a formal agreement in 1999The initial prototype designed and developed with Pakistani input through all phases, recording its first flight on August 23rd, 2003.
Follow-up testing and revisions naturally ensued and a newer prototype took to the skies in 2006. All testing was handled in China up until 2007 saw initial deliveries of examples for evaluation by the Pakistani Air Force. The first locally produced Pakistani JF-17 was delivered in 2009. Evaluation proved favorable and the Pakistani Air Force officially accepted the aircraft into service under the designation of JF-17 "Thunder". The first operational squadron was formed in February of 2010.
As of this writing, Pakistan is sold on the concept and capabilities of the new JF-17. At least 150 examples are on order and the total PAF inventory concerning the new fighter may grow to include some 250 total aircraft in service. An initial batch of 42 aircraft has been added to the Pakistani Air Force inventory as of November 2012.
FC-1/JF-17 Variants
The FC-1/JF-17 was initially conceived in three single-seat prototypes known simply as the PT-01, PT-02 and the PT-03. These were followed into development by the revised single-seat prototypes encompassing the PT-04, PT-05 and the PT-06. From the PT-04 prototype, the single-seat production form was born and is now known under two distinct designations as the "JF-17 Thunder" (in Pakistan service) and the "FC-1 Xiaolong" (in Chinese service). To follow will be a two-seat mount that will double as both a pilot trainer (fitting the student in the forward cockpit with the instructor in the aft cockpit) that will make use of less internal fuel stores and a dedicated strike fighter. This two-seat form is currently under development as of this writing.
Avionics and Internal Systems
The FC-1/JF-17 makes use of a wide array of technological systems to maintain a healthy and lethal lifestyle. Chief among these is the NRIET KLJ-7 series multimode fire-control radar that handles tracking and engagement of targets including those beyond visual range (BVR), allowing the aircraft access to the latest in available Pakistani missile weaponry. The KLJ-7 was developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronic Technology (NRIET) around the year 2005 and promotes a range out to 75 kilometers on an X-band frequency. Available radar modes include Range While Search, Dual Target Track, Air Combat Mode, Air-to-Ground Ranging and Ground Moving Target Indication/Track.
Avionics pods are carried externally and can assist in expanding the pilot's situational awareness in-flight. These devices include a self-protection radar jammer, a day-or-night laser designator (for precision guided munitions) and a Forward-Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) system for tracking targets in the darkness or through heavy smoke. A Helmet-Mounted Sight and Display (HMSD) returns vital mission information to the pilot's helmet without the pilot taking his view away from the action ahead. Additionally, night vision equipment can be utilized for nighttime/adverse weather sorties and are fully compatible with the "all-glass" digital cockpit of the fighter. The digital cockpit setting also takes much of the mission load away from the pilot and centers them on fully-automated computer processing systems which allows the FC-1/JF-17 design to remain a single-seat multi-role aircraft.
Chengdu FC-1/JF-17 Walk-Around
The Chengdu FC-1/JF-17 product appears highly conventional for its multi-mission role. The type makes use of a tubular fuselage with the cockpit set well-ahead on the airframe. The front of the fuselage was capped by a nose cone assembly housing the radar. The pilot is afforded an excellent view out of his cockpit (with the exception to his rear where the fuselage spine blocks his view) and has unfettered views to the front, above and sides of his seating. The cockpit is covered over in a single piece canopy with a forward piece set in place with light framing. Intakes feed a single power-plant buried deep within the fuselage. An intake is mounted to either side of the airframe just below and aft of the cockpit and the keen observer will note small bulges ahead of each opening to help induce airflow. Wings are mid-set along the sides of the aircraft and feature highly swept leading edge surfaces. The wings are designed to take a brunt of the external ordnance load by way of under-wing pylon hard-points and wingtip missile launchers. The fuselage spine conforms to become the base of the single vertical tail fin atop the empennage. The tail fin sports a severe sweep along its leading edge and a straight form along its trailing edge. Affixed to the top of the vertical fin is a rectangular assembly. All-moving horizontal tail-planes are set to either side of the empennage. The engine exhausts through a single large ring at the extreme rear. Some of the integrated avionics are set in a rear package, appearing as a rounded protrusion just above the jet exhaust ring and at the base of the vertical tail fin. A pair of ventral strakes can clearly be seen at the base of the empennage. The FC-1/JF-17 makes use of a fully-retractable tricycle landing gear featuring two single-wheeled main landing gear legs as well as a single-wheeled nose landing gear leg. Construction of the airframe is of semi-monocoque format and made up of aluminum alloys as well as utilizing titanium allows and steel in certain high-stress areas. Control surfaces are under the control of a digital flight control system while the pilot enjoys the benefits of a HOTAS configuration (Hands On Throttle and Stick).
Chengdu FC-1/JF-17 Power-plant
The Chengdu FC-1/JF-17 is powered by a single Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine delivering 11,106lbs of standard thrust and up to 18,973lbs of thrust with afterburner (raw fuel pumped into the exhaust for quick bursts of speed). Not surprisingly, the Chinese engine is of Russian origin. Maximum speed is listed at approximately Mach 1.8 (about 2,205 kilometers per hour). The FC-1/JF-17 enjoys a ferry range of up to 2,175 miles with a combat radius equal to 840 miles.
Service ceiling is listed at 54,790 feet which requires a pressurized cockpit and pilot oxygen supply.
Chengdu FC-1/JF-17 Armament
Standard armament for the FC-1/JF-17 is a fixed, forward-firing 23mm GSh-23-2 twin-barrel internal cannon of Russian origin. Additionally, this weapon system can be replaced with the larger-caliber 30mm GSh-30-2 series cannon at the expense of stored ammunition. In addition to this fixed armament, the FC-1/JF-17 can field a variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions across its seven external hard-points. Weapon stations include the wingtip launchers (reserved solely for short-range air-to-air missiles), four under-wing stations (the two innermost are plumbed for external jettison-able fuel stores) and a single under-fuselage centerline location, this also plumbed for external fuel stores. External fuel tanks help expand the range and loitering times of such aircraft, sometimes to tremendous levels, without the need for costly in-flight refueling operations. The FC-1/JF-17 can sport an under-fuselage tank of 800 liters while her two under-wing stations can carry either 800 liter or 1,000 liter fuel supplies depending on mission parameters.
Among the munitions options to be made available to FC-1/JF-17 pilots are air-to-air weapons systems such as the AIM-9L/M series short-ranged missile. Similarly, the PL-5E and PL-9C will broaden the short-ranged missile array. Beyond visual range missile systems include the PL-12 (exported as the SD-10).Air-to-surface ordnance consists of mainstream missiles, guided bombs, conventional drop bombs and rocket pods. Among the guided munition options are the Ra'ad ALCM cruise missile, the AM-39 Exocet AM-39 anti-ship missile and the MAR-1 anti-radiation missile (the latter to counter ground-based radar threats). Precision drop bombs come in the form of the GBU-10, GBU-12 and LT-2 laser-guided bombs.
Additionally the H-2 and H-4 electro-optically guided bombs can be used as can the LS-6 satellite-guided bomb. The FC-1/JF-17 is cleared for the Mk-82 and Mk-84 unguided drop bombs as well as the CBU-100/Mk 20 Rockeye anti-armor cluster bomb. Of course, these armament selections are not the limit for any operator can dress the FC-1/JF-17 to their liking, be they American-
based weapons or French, British or Russian in origin.
FC-1/JF-17 Operators
To date, only Pakistan is the sole true operator of the JF-17 "Thunder". In February of 2010, the Pakistan Air Force was home to at least sixteen JF-17 operational examples, these with the 36th Tactical Attack Wing out of PAF Base in Peshawar. These
Thunders are under ownership of the No. 26 Squadron known as the "Black Spiders".
While China is the lead developer for the JF-17/FC-1 aircraft, the nation has yet to procure the system in any notable numbers herself. In late 2009, the FC-1 was known to have passed a procurement hurdle that seems to indicate that the Xiaolong will, at some point, arm the People's Liberation Army Air Force in the near future. It has been mentioned that an FC-1 was being tested with a Guizhou WS-13 series turbofan engine in November 2012.
Initial success of the JF-17, thanks to its display in Pakistan military exhibitions, has increased global interest in the Chinese/Pakistan product. Azerbaijan and Zimbabwe are known to have shown a strong desire to procure the new jet. Other interested parties in talks are Egypt and Sudan and possible Iran and Nigeria as well as Bangladesh.
For the Pakistani Air Force, the JF-17 will replace the large stock of French Dassault Mirage fighters in inventory as well as Chinese J-7 and A-5 (Chinese MiG-19) fighters. The multi-role advanced nature of the new fighter will mean that outgoing aircraft will not be individually replaced with a single JF-17 as the JF-17 can now take over the roles once handled by multiple jets.
The JF-17 is expected to be paired with the Chinese Chengdu J-10 "Vigorous Dragon" which may still be sold to Pakistan in the near future.
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Specifications for the Chengdu JF-17 Thunder (FC-1 Xiaolong)
Lightweight Multirole Fighter
Country of Origin: China
Manufacturer: Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation - China / Pakistan
Aeronautical Complex - Pakistan
Initial Year of Service: 2010
Production: 50.
Focus Model: Chegdu JF-17 Thunder (FC-1 Xiaolong)
Crew: 1
Length: 45.93ft (14m)
Width: 31.00ft (9.45m)
Height: 15.65ft (4.77m)
Weight (Empty): 14,134lbs (6,411kg)
Weight (MTOW): 20,062lbs (9,100kg)
Powerplant: 1
Maximum Speed: 1,370mph (2,205kmh; 1,191kts)
Maximum Range: 1,864miles (3,000km)
Service Ceiling: 54,790ft (16,700m; 10.4miles)
Rate-of-Climb: 0 feet per minute (0m/min)
Hardpoints: 7 (including wingtip)
Armament Suite:
STANDARD:
1 x 23mm GSh-23-2 twin-barreled cannon OR 1 x 30mm GSh-30-2 cannon
OPTIONAL:
Up to 8,000lbs of external ordnance across seven hard-points. Can include a combination of the following munitions:
AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
PL-5E missiles
PL-9C missiles
PL-12 missiles
SD-10 missiles
Anti-Radiation missiles
AM-39 Exocet anti-ship missiles
Ra'ad ALCM cruise missiles
Mk 82 general purpose bombs
Mk 84 general purpose bombs
Matra Durandal anti-runway bombs
Mk 20/CBU-100 Rockeye anti-armor cluster bomb
GBU-10 laser-guided bombs
GBU-12 laser-guided bombs
LT-2 laser-guided bombs
H-2 precision-guided munitions
H-4 electro-optically guided bombs
LS-6 satellite-guided glide bombs
3 x Fuel Tanks
Variants:
PT-01 - Flight Performance Prototype
PT-02 - Static Load Test Prototype
PT-03 - Flight Performance Prototype
PT-04 - Avionics Test/Weapons Prototype
PT-05 - Fatigue Test Prototype
PT-06 - Avionics Test Prototype
FC-1 - Chinese Designation
JF-17 - Export Designation; Pakistani Air Force Designation.
Operators: Azerbaijan; Bangladesh (possible); China; Egypt (possible); Iran (possible); Nigeria (possible); Pakistan; Sudan; Zimbabwe (possible)
nicely researched article.
