The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) or Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC), a subsidiary of AVIC, is a Chinese

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

conglomerate that designs and manufactures

combat aircraft A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equipm ...

and is also a manufacturer of aircraft parts. It was founded in 1958 (as Chengdu State Aircraft Factory No.132 Aircraft Plant) in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

province to be an aircraft supplier for the Chinese military. The Chengdu Aerospace Corporation designed and now produces the

Chengdu J-10 The Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon (; NATO reporting name: Firebird), is a medium-weight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft capable of all-weather operations, configured with a delta wing and canard design, with fly-by-wire flight contr ...

light-weight multi-role fighter and

Chengdu J-20 The Chengdu J-20 (), also known as ''Mighty Dragon'' (), is a twinjet all-weather stealth fighter aircraft developed by China's Chengdu Aerospace Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-20 is designed as an air ...

fifth-generation jet fighter A fifth-generation fighter is a jet fighter aircraft classification which includes major technologies developed during the first part of the 21st century. , these are the most advanced fighters in operation. The characteristics of a fifth-gene ...

, that are considered to be two of the most advanced weapons in China's inventory, as well as the CAC/PAC FC-1 Xiaolong (Chinese designation) (CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder is the Pakistani designation) very light-weight multi-role fighter that is produced in cooperation with

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Chengdu Aerospace has been cited for its success in developing China's first fifth-generation aircraft and stealth fighter jet. Its development led China to become the second country in the world (first in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

) to possess fifth-generation and stealth technology.

History

J-7I fighter at the China Aviation museum

In April 1956 an agreement was signed by China with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

which included assistance with China's aviation industry. This included the No. 132 fighter manufacturing plant construction project. Construction started on 18 October 1958 and was basically completed in October 1964. A total of 180 million yuan was invested, the plant covered 507.4 hectares and employed 10,485 people. The first J-5 fighter to be produced made a successful maiden flight in November 1964. The J-5 was then modified into a dual-seat model, the FT-5, whose maiden flight occurred in May 1966. The factory was also preparing to begin manufacture of the J-7. With the beginning of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

in 1966 the plant was put under military control until 1972. With the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, the No. 132 factory began a new period of development and the facility's focus was slowly shifted to scientific research and production. The maiden flight of the J-7I occurred in March 1970 and in 1975 the J-7II was designed. It was decided that the J-7 required a comprehensive transformation of the plant. Until 1985 an 80,642 square meter workshop was built with new equipment and an annual production capacity of almost 200 J-7 fighters. In 1979 the No. 132 plant was introduced to the outside world as Chengdu Aircraft Company and began exporting military products as well as gradually providing products for civilian use, motorcycles for example. In 1982 the aviation industry of China began to be re-organised and CAC was one of the institutions to be focused on. During the process CAC was re-organised with the principle of "unified leadership and decentralised management". CAC began using advanced foreign technology and equipment to improve its existing products and speed up development of new products. These were for export as well as the domestic market. The J-7A, F-7IIA, F-7B, F-7M and F-7III were developed and exported to over 10 countries. Developing and producing the J-7M in 1984 was an important achievement as it was then China's most advanced light fighter aircraft. In 1985 the company established a quality assurance system for its military products and was exploring the development of civilian products such as light vehicles, motorcycles, dry cleaning machines, windows and tooling for civilian enterprises. Factories for building hydraulic landing gear fixtures, motorcycle engines, moulds, model aircraft and dry cleaning machinery were established in 1987 and CAC became one of 19 motorcycle production sites. In 1988 a sub-contracting arrangement with the United States was formed and CAC was involved with the production of the

McDonnell Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

. In 1989 CAC was again re-organised into Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Corporation and promoted to a state enterprise in 1990. The first MD-80 nose section was delivered in 1991. By 1992, CAC's motorcycle and jack factories were placed under the control of a new company for civilian products and, in 1992, CAC was recognised as a large industrial enterprise in China's aviation industry. The company reformed its wage system and structure in 1993. A quota reduction of 22.3%, 11.9% in staff levels was set. The company's automotive mould production factory was also re-organised. Further reforms to the labour system occurred in 1994, with greater attention paid to business regulation and workers' rights. Sub-contracting production projects were expanded in 1995 with firms in the U.S. (McDonnell Douglas and Boeing), South Korea and Singapore. The company's sales revenue in non-aviation products exceeded 1 million for the first time in 1996 after increased focus on this area. CAC later began producing

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...

and

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its mai ...

components, such as vertical and horizontal tails. The company also achieved

ISO9001 The ISO 9000 family is a set of five quality management systems (QMS) standards that help organizations ensure they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. ISO 9 ...

quality certification in

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

. The first flight of the Chengdu J-10 fighter in 1998 was an achievement that proved the company's ability to produce China's third generation of fighter technology. In 2002 the first prototypes of the FC-1 / Super-7 fighter, jointly developed with Pakistan, were completed. Digital design, manufacturing and management techniques were developed during this time. The J-7G also made its maiden flight and contracts were signed with

Dassault Dassault Group (; also GIM Dassault or Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS) is a French group of companies established in 1929 with the creation of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (now Dassault Aviation) by Marcel Dassault, and led by son Ser ...

for production of Falcon 2000EX fuel tanks.

Facilities

* Chengdu Airframe Plant * Chengdu Engine Company - founded as Chengdu Aero-Engine Factory in 1958 and located at a 137 ha (338.5 acres) plant employing 20,000 *

Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute The Chengdu Aircraft Research & Design Institute (CADI), or 611 Research and Design Institute ( zh, c=成都飞机设计研究所, p=Chéngdū fēijī shèjì yánjiūsuǒ), is a design institute and works with the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group f ...

* Wenjiang Airbase (''Zh-Wiki'')

Products

Aircraft

Chengdu JJ-5 The Shenyang J-5 (Chinese: 歼-5) ( NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designate ...

(JianJiao-5) basic jet trainer; export model designated FT-5 *

Chengdu J-7 The Chengdu J-7 (Chinese: 歼-7; third generation export version F-7; NATO reporting name: Fishcan) is a People's Republic of China fighter aircraft. It is a license-built version of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, and thus shares many si ...

- Lightweight interceptor; export models designated F-7 (Operational / No longer in Production) **

Project Sabre II Project Sabre II was the Pakistan Air Force's program to develop a feasible and low-cost multirole combat jet based on an existing design—the Chengdu F-7 Skybolt, a Chinese variant of the MiG–21. The Pakistani Air Force (PAF) initiated ...

Chengdu J-9 The Chengdu J-9 (Chinese: 歼-9) was an interceptor aircraft that was cancelled during development in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was proposed in 1964 by the 601 Institute (Shenyang) as a higher-performing alternative to the Shenya ...

- Cancelled interceptor fighter project from the 1970s (Prototype / Canceled) *

- 4th generation multi-role fighter (Operational / In Production) * FC-1 Xiaolong/JF-17 Thunder - 4th generation Lightweight multi-role fighter (Operational / In Production) *

- Fifth generation stealth fighter (Operational / In production)

Business Jet

CBJ800 CBJ800 “Pegasus”, which stands for Chinese Business Jet 800, is a business jet developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, with collaboration of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, Hongdu Aviation Industry Group Hongdu Aviation Industry Group Lt ...

- Large

Business Jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pub ...

in development

Aircraft parts

ACAC ARJ21 The Comac ARJ21 Xiangfeng () is a 78–90 seat regional jet manufactured by the Chinese state-owned aerospace company Comac. Development of the ARJ21 (Advanced Regional Jet) began in March 2002, the first prototype was rolled out on 21 Decem ...

nose section * Chinese licensee of McDonnell Douglas MD-80 / MD-90 * Parts supplier for

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

* Empennage (horizontal stabilizer, vertical fin and tail section) for the

* Parts and maintenance tools for

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

Engines

* licensed version of RD-500K turbojet * WP6 turbojet - Chinese version of

Tumansky RD-9 The Tumansky RD-9 (initially designated Mikulin AM-5) was an early Soviet turbojet engine, not based on pre-existing German or British designs. The AM-5, developed by scaling down the AM-3, was available in 1952 and completed testing in 1953; ...

* LM WP13 turbojet - Chinese version of

Tumansky R-13 The Tumansky R-13 is a Soviet turbojet engine designed by Sergei Alekseevich Gavrilov. Design and development The Tumansky R-13 is a development of the successful Tumansky R-11 engine. It is a two-spool axial-flow turbojet featuring a new five-s ...

* components to support users of the

Pratt & Whitney JT8D The Pratt & Whitney JT8D is a low-bypass (0.96 to 1) turbofan engine introduced by Pratt & Whitney in February 1963 with the inaugural flight of the Boeing 727. It was a modification of the Pratt & Whitney J52 turbojet engine which powered th ...

turbofan

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

* Chengdu Winglong * Chengdu Xianglong

References

External links

Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC) official website

{{Transport in China Aircraft manufacturers of China Defence companies of the People's Republic of China Companies based in Chengdu Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1958 Chinese companies established in 1958