Chinese military aircraft debut at Paris Air Show

The 50th International Paris Air Show was launched at the Le Bourget Airport near Paris on June 17, 2013, where the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) showcased in the main exhibition hall a variety of its aircraft models, including a single-seat version and a two-seat version of the Xiaolong Fighter China 1 (FC-1), the Hongdu L-15 "Falcon" advanced jet trainer (AJT), the Yilong/Pterodactyl-1 multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Y-8C transport aircraft, etc.

The following are the profiles of the military aircraft models that the AVIC exhibited at the Paris Air Show:

Xiaolong /FC-1

The Xiaolong FC-1 is an all-weather, single-engine, single-seat and multi-purpose light fighter jointly invested and developed by China and Pakistan. China named it the Xiaolong/ FC-1 while Pakistan named it the Thunder/ JF-17. Adopting an advanced aerodynamic layout, this aircraft is equipped with a high-thrust turbofan engine characterized by low fuel consumption, outstanding mobility, greater ferry range, air-staying time and combat radius, excellent short-distance takeoff and landing (STOL) characteristics, as well as strong weapon loading capability. The entire aircraft possesses 7 hard points that can be mounted with multiple kinds of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, with a capacity of 3,600-plus kg for external fuel and ordnance as well as the capabilities of launching mid-range missiles and attacking multi-target beyond visual range (BVR). Meanwhile, it also features such functions as precise navigation, battlefield situation awareness, target detection and identification, electronic warfare (EW), and so on. Owing to the advanced technologies of research and development as well as manufacturing, the Xiaolong fighter has reached the comprehensive operational efficiency of the third-generation fighter with such characteristics as light weight, compact size, and low cost, meeting completely the demands of the international arms trade market. Its main parameters include:

Full aircraft length: 14.26m

Wingspan: 9.0m (including the missile center-lines at the wingtips)

Full aircraft height: 4.775m

Normal takeoff weight: 9,100kg (including wingtip missiles)

Maximum takeoff weight: 12,400kg

Normal takeoff distance: 407m

Distance of landing run: 735m

Maximum Mach: 1.6

Service ceiling: 16km

Basic ferry range: 1,800km

Maximum ferry range: 3,000km