Islamabad, Apr 09: Two Pakistani pilots successfully completed test flights of the J-17 prototype fighter jets built with China's assistance, Pakistan's air force said Friday. The test pilots flew two sorties in a JF-17 "Thunder" aircraft over the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu in Sichuan province on Thursday, Air Force spokesman Cmdr Tariq Mahmood said here. The 30-minute flights were the first by Pakistani pilots of the single-seat fighter. Chinese test pilots have also flown the aircraft.
"After landing, both pilots reported that they were extremely happy with the excellent performance of the aircraft in all phases of its flight," the Air Force said. The JF-17 fighter made its maiden flight last year, and tests will continue before the aircraft is scheduled for production in January 2006.
The maiden test flights coincided with a visit to Beijing by Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri who signed an agreement with his hosts to increase cooperation between the two foreign ministries. Also on Thursday, Chinese and Pakistani officials pledged to increase defense cooperation at a meeting near Islamabad. The Defense Ministry said they discussed joint projects on tanks and fighter jets, as well as "many new areas for continued cooperation in the fields of defense and defense industry."
Pakistan, whose main defense supplier is China, has an air force of 500 aircraft, including several Chinese models. Its annual budget is $500 million.
Bureau Report