China and Pakistan tested the first prototype of FC-1, also known as the JF-17 Thunder or the Super J-7, on August 25.

A publicly held test flight was made with great fanfare on Wednesday in southeastern Chengdu city, Sichuan province, with Pakistani Air Force Chief Kaleem Saadat attending the ceremony.

According to the Kanwa Information Center, a Toronto-based organization that monitors Chinese military developments, Russia's Phazotron Radar Design Bureau is promoting an upgraded "phased array radar" used on FC-1 in the hopes that the Chinese air force will purchase the jet.

The FC-1 is a fighter based on the defunct Russian Mig-33 jet and besides Russian avionics, also contains Russian engines.

"The reason this promotion effort was given great attention was that Russia believes the Chinese Air Force may order some FC1 fighters," Kanwa's Chang Yihong told AFP.

Although the Pakistani air force has ordered 150 of the planes, the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has reportedly balked at purchasing it due to the ongoing development of a better fighter jet, the J-10.

The PLAAF is consequently mulling the purchases of up to 200 of the FC-1, military sources in Beijing said.

A purchase by the PLAAF would increase the production run and reduce the unit cost of the jet, they said.

China and Pakistan have poured in excess of 500 million dollars into the development of the FC-1, which is being built by the Chengdu Aircraft Group Corp, in cooperation with China Aero Technology Import and Export Co.

According to previous reports, China is targeting markets in the Middle East, Africa and South America for sales of the plane, which is expected to be sold in the neighborhood of 15 million dollars each.

Chinese state press reports said the fighter would be attractive to overseas buyers due to its avionics and maneuverability which is comparable to that of the US-built F-16, a 1970s-vintage aircraft.

The project, which has been in the works for more than a decade, has seen several bumps along the road, beginning with the withdrawal of US cooperation following in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

WAR.WIRE