The JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter was jointly developed by China and Pakistan The Joint Fighter-17 (JF-17) Thunder multi-role fighter was started life as a joint US and Chinese program. In the late 1980s Chengdu and Grumman made a deign study to upgrade Chinese Xian F-7M fighters to Super 7 standard. This new aircraft was planned to be offered for export by China as a low-cost replacement for the American Northrop F-5, Chinese F-6 and F-7, as well as Soviet MiG-21. This new aircraft was planned to be fitted with Western radar, engine and avionics. However this programme was cancelled in 1990. China continued the Super 7 project on its own and renamed the design as the Fighter China-1 (FC-1) or FC-1 Xiaolong (Fiece Dragon). This design further evolved into a JF-17, that was jointly developed by China and Pakistan. Development started in 1999. Most of the development was carried out in China by Chengdu, however development costs were split equally. It was reported that Russian Mik