ISLAMABAD, April 9: Two Pakistan Air Force pilots have completed the first test flight of prototype fighter jet developed jointly with China, a military statement said on Friday.

Squadron Leader Muhammad Ehsan ul Haq and Squadron Leader Rashid Habib flew two sorties of 30 minutes each in the skies of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province of China.

The pilots evaluated the flight performance of the aircraft in different phases of flight. After landing, both the pilots reported that they were extremely happy with the performance of the aircraft in all phases of its flight.

With these flights, the Pakistani pilots have joined the chosen team of JF-17 test pilots, which includes the Chinese test pilots. From now on, PAF pilots will regularly participate in the test-flights of the JF-17 aircraft alongside their Chinese counterparts to complete the flight test and evaluation phase of the aircraft.

The aircraft, after its maiden flight in September last year, is being subjected to exhaustive ground and air tests. These tests are conducted on all the newly-manufactured aeroplanes before they are certified for the regular serial production. -APP