User:Hj108/Sandbox/F-7 Sabre II

Sabre II was the designation assigned to an upgrade project of the Chinese F-7M interceptor aircraft for the Pakistan Air Force that never progressed beyond initial studies.

History
In the mid-80s, Pakistan Air Force required a low-cost fighter to supplement their advanced F-16 fleet. It was decided that the Chengdu F-7M would be redesigned into a new aircraft, both cheap enough to form the backbone of PAF while being sophisticated enough to defend against newer fighters. The F-86 Sabre was the fighter that performed this function during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, supplementing the more advanced F-104 Starfighter. The new fighter was meant to revive the legacy of the F-86 Sabre, hence the name Sabre II.

Pakistan and China started the project in 1986. In 1987, the USA's Grumman Aerospace joined the project as the primary contractor while other Western companies competed to provide the advanced engine and avionics. China would provide the initial manufacturing facilities and Pakistan was to later start manufacturing the aircraft, which was also planned to be exported to other developing countries.

The F-7M was redesigned with new air intakes on the sides of the fuselage. The nose intake was covered with a nose-cone to house an advanced look-down capable radar similar to that in PAF's F-16 Fighting Falcons. An extra hardpoint under each wing would be added inboard of the existing ones, to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

When costs increased beyond 11 million dollars per aircraft, it was decided that the aircraft was too expensive for both the home and abroad markets. The project was dropped in favour of the F-7M, which was evaluated by PAF and a list of improvements delivered to China. The improved aircraft, F-7P, was then procured by PAF.