September 4, 2003	Thursday	Rajab 6, 1424

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BEIJING, Sept 3: Super-7 (JF-17) fighter aircraft, a joint venture of Pakistan and China, was successfully tested in Sichuan province, said Chinese sources on Wednesday.

“We have developed an advanced, multipurpose light fighter plane to meet the needs of overseas customers,” the sources said. The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat, attended the launching ceremony.

The maiden flight of Xiaolong/FC-1, or fierce dragon, from Wenjiang airport in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, proved successful, the state-run Chinese news agency XINHUA reported.

The plane demonstrated its outstanding mobility, good interception and ground attack capability, said the report, adding that it had comprehensive combat capability of a third generation fighter plane and was at par with the world’s most advanced fighter planes.

The report said the plane, small in size and low in cost, was suitable for modern warfare. It took about four years for Chengdu Aircraft Group Corp, in cooperation with China Aero Technology Import and Export Co., to develop the plane, it said.—APP