FC-1 news. (China)

Friday June 1 11:25 AM ET
China Targets Poor Countries on FC-1

BEIJING (AP) - China is targeting poor countries for sales of a new advanced but inexpensive fighter jet, an official newspaper said Friday.

The FC-1, developed with Pakistan, aims to replace outdated warplanes in Asia, Africa and South America, the Guangzhou Daily reported.

The FC-1, or Fighter China 1, will offer performance comparable to France's Mirage III or Russia's MiG-27, the newspaper reported. It said China's military has ordered 100 planes and Iran is considered a likely customer.

The report didn't give the price of the aircraft or say when it would be delivered. But the Web site of the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists, which monitors weapons development worldwide, said each FC-1 plane could cost $10 million to $15 million.

U.S. F-16 fighters cost about $20 million each.

China's weapons industry sells widely in developing countries, which often cannot afford weapons from the United States, Europe or Russia.

The FC-1 project began after a program to upgrade China's F-7 fighters by the United States was canceled in 1990 due to cooling relations and rising costs.

Work has been carried out by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Company, based in Sichuan province, in cooperation with Pakistan's Aviation Integrated Company and Russia's Mikoyan Aero-Science Production Group, according to the Federation of American Scientists Web site.

The plane is powered by a Russian Klimov RD-93 engine which can take it to 1.8 times the speed of sound, the Guangzhou Daily said. It said the plane has a range of 739 miles, and can carry up to 7,920 pounds of weapons, including short- and medium-range missiles.

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On the Net:

Web site of the Federation of American Scientists,


http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010601/wl/china_fighter_jet_1.html