China China’s advanced J-20 stealth fighters are getting an engine upgrade, source says

[xizhimen]

China’s advanced J-20 stealth fighters are getting an engine upgrade, The WS-15 afterburning turbofan engine has significantly boosted J-20 performance​

• State television reports that the new engine has been put through a series of tests
• It is said to have increased the aircraft’s manoeuvrability and combat capability

Published: 5:00am, 15 Mar, 2022

The development was highlighted on Chinese state television, with a report saying the WS-15 engine had been put through a series of tests. Photo: CCTV

China’s most advanced stealth fighter jet, the J-20, has a new engine that has significantly boosted its performance, according to a military source.

The WS-15 afterburning turbofan engine was developed in China and has increased manoeuvrability and combat capability, said the source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

That could take the J-20, or Mighty Dragon, a step closer to rivalling the American F-22 Raptor.

The engine upgrade was highlighted on Chinese state television on Sunday, with CCTV saying the WS-15 had been put through a series of tests.

The report did not say when the engine would be ready for assembly, but according to the military source that process has already begun.

“The J-20s are fitted with the Russian AL-31F engines and these will be gradually be replaced by the WS-15,” the source said.

They said there would be no change to the J-20s which have another Chinese engine, the WS-10C, also a thrust-vectoring engine.

“In the future, all J-20s will be fitted with Chinese engines,” the source said. “This is part of the localisation programme [by the People’s Liberation Army].”

Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the Canada-based Kanwa Asian Defence Monthly, said that while the WS-15 engine upgrade could take it closer to competing with the F-22 – as well as America’s F-35 multirole strike fighter and Russia’s Su-57 stealth fighter – the F-22 would “remain a threat to the PLA”.

“The aircraft is still the world’s most powerful fighter jet,” Chang said. “Besides its powerful engine, the F-20 is equipped with so many advanced technologies that still remain mysterious to outsiders.”

China’s military at present operates a fleet of about 50 J-20s. The military source said any new J-20s would be equipped with the WS-15 engine.

In comparison, the US military has more than 180 active F-22s, but Washington decided in 2011 to stop production due to their high cost and expensive maintenance, so the F-35 is now the main challenge to China’s J-20.

The F-22s have F-119 engines with afterburners and two-dimensional thrust-vectoring nozzles, while the F-35s use General Electric’s XA100 engine.

Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank in Beijing, said the American XA100 engine was still about a decade ahead of the WS-15 in terms of the technology.

“China has so far just matched the American engines in some areas, but not in overall performance. It’s also not meaningful to emphasise one area because military confrontation is about a competition of systems and a contest of joint operational capabilities,” Zhou said.

“The Americans still rule the sky in the Asia-Pacific because it’s not China’s intention to challenge US air superiority [in the region],” he added.

China began developing the WS-15 engine in the early 1990s for fifth-generation aircraft like the J-20 but the project fell behind schedule, according to the CCTV report.

The delay meant the developer of the J-20 – Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group – instead used the Russian AL-31F engine, as well as Chinese engines the WS-10B and WS-10C, amid increasing security challenges from the US.

The Pentagon started deploying F-35s to the Asia-Pacific in recent years, pushing Beijing to speed up development of the J-20, which was first commissioned in 2017, six years after its maiden flight.

China’s J-20 stealth fighters are getting an engine upgrade, source says

State television reports that the new engine has been put through a series of tests.

www.scmp.com

 

[xizhimen]

Chinese J-20 Chase away US F-35 in E. China Sea​

it is likely that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force sortied the J-20s to counter the possibly provocative activities by the US F-35s near China as part of routine maritime management and control missions

 

[Viva_vietnamm]

Chinese J-20 Chase away US F-35 in E. China Sea​

it is likely that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force sortied the J-20s to counter the possibly provocative activities by the US F-35s near China as part of routine maritime management and control missions

Hope J-20 really can fight in the real war (Taiwan invasion) instead of using Su 30 to avoid being shot down like mosquitoes

 

[xizhimen]

Hope J-20 really can fight in the real war (Taiwan invasion) instead of using Su 30 to avoid being shot down like mosquitoes

F-35s actually crashed like mosquitoes by themselves without even engaging in any combat battles.

 

[Viva_vietnamm]

F-35s actually crashed like mosquitoes by themselves without even engaging in any combat battles.

Russia is becoming stronger and stronger and she may become as powerful as Soviet soon. Hope your J-20 can do something before Russia bully CN again like during Soviet's era

 

[Tornadoss]

Russia is becoming stronger and stronger and she may become as powerful as Soviet soon. Hope your J-20 can do something before Russia bully CN again like during Soviet's era

I can not see how Russia becoming stronger?

 

[Huelague]

Chinese J-20 Chase away US F-35 in E. China Sea​

it is likely that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force sortied the J-20s to counter the possibly provocative activities by the US F-35s near China as part of routine maritime management and control missions

Could J-20 detect the F-35?
In near future we will see a direct competition of J-20 and F-35 on a battlefield.

 

[Manomed]

Russia is becoming stronger and stronger and she may become as powerful as Soviet soon. Hope your J-20 can do something before Russia bully CN again like during Soviet's era

Russian radars are not even par with western/chinese radars what are you saying? Russian air force=garbage

 

[Jagdflieger]

Could J-20 detect the F-35?
In near future we will see a direct competition of J-20 and F-35 on a battlefield.

A J-20 or even a J-10 can detect an F-35 or F-22
The F-35 is certainly a great improvement towards a contemporary 3rd or 4th generation aircraft - however it's actual (practical) RS isn't better then that of e.g. the Eurofighter. And RS isn't everything, antenna emissions are a given factor as well.

First-Ever F-35, J-20 Encounter — After A Near Miss, US ‘Replicates’ Chinese Stealth Fighters To Battle USAF Warplanes​

By Sakshi Tiwari

June 11, 2022
Months after the Commander of the Pacific Air Forces of the USAF, General Kenneth Wilsbach revealed that the F-35 had a close encounter with China’s J-20 fighter jet over the East China Sea, the US Air Force is constituting an F-35 aggressor squadron to ‘replicate the threat emerging from China.’

First-Ever F-35, J-20 Encounter -- After A Near Miss, US 'Replicates' Chinese Stealth Fighters To Battle USAF Warplanes

Months after the Commander of the Pacific Air Forces of the USAF, General Kenneth Wilsbach revealed that the F-35 had a close encounter with China’s J-20 fighter jet over the East China Sea, the US Air Force is constituting an F-35 aggressor squadron to ‘replicate the threat emerging from...

eurasiantimes.com

Following the revelations by the US Commander and his unusually positive comments about the Chinese fighter, the PLA Air Force deployed the J-20′ Mighty Dragon’ for training patrols in the East and South China Seas amid rising tensions with the West over the Taiwan issue.
At the time of deployment, a Chinese military analyst Song Zhongping told Chinese state media Global Times that the J-20 would be deployed to potential battlefields and at sea, especially when the American F-35 and F-22 fighters were operating close to China.
In what could be considered an American strategy for preparing for a future confrontation, On June 9, the US Air Force re-established the 65th Aggressor Squadron (AGRS) at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The unit will only fly the F-35A Lightning II and will focus on mimicking China’s superior airpower capabilities.

 

[xizhimen]

 

[Jagdflieger]

The "loyal wingman" J-20 is already underway

 

[xizhimen]

Russia is becoming stronger and stronger and she may become as powerful as Soviet soon. Hope your J-20 can do something before Russia bully CN again like during Soviet's era

The stronger the better, cheers for Russia!

 

[Manomed]

The stronger the better, cheers for Russia!

Strong at getting kicked out by a small country

Even poland can take out russia.

 

[xizhimen]

China's WS-15 turbofan engine undergoes tests, shows improved performance
Published: Mar 14, 2022 09:32 PM

The WS-15, China's next generation turbofan engine expected to be used on the J-20 stealth fighter jet to greatly improve its performance, has undergone several tests that saw the engine further improved and optimized, the state broadcaster recently reported.

After the large scale equipment of the WS-10, China's first independently developed high performance, high thrust turbofan engine with afterburner, on Chinese fighter jets including the J-10, the J-11 and the J-20 since 2016, the country's next generation turbofan engine, the WS-15, has undergone several tests, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday.

Developed for fifth-generation heavy and medium fighter jets, the WS-15 has a low bypass ratio and is capable of thrust vector control, CCTV said.

With the tests, all parameters of the WS-15 have been further improved and optimized, the CCTV reported, noting that the more powerful WS-15 is expected to replace the WS-10 for the J-20 in the future, so the J-20 will finally become its ultimate form.

A distinguishing characteristic of a next generation high thrust engine for combat aircraft is that it should have a thrust of between 15 to 18 tons, military expert Wang Mingliang said on CCTV.

When the J-20 gets the new engines, it will become a more powerful platform, thanks to boosted super-cruise capability and super-maneuverability, in addition to its already excellent stealth capability and situational awareness, the expert said.

China has already displayed a thrust vector control-capable engine in flight by a J-10 fighter jet at Airshow China 2018. So such technology will not be a problem for China, and the increase in the thrust-to-weight ratio and the reduction in fuel consumption has always been a goal in engine development, Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times.

The technology gap between China and leading countries like the US in terms of jet engine development had been significantly narrowed in recent years, said Wang Ya'nan.

The reason behind this surge is China's accumulation of technologies and theories over the past decade, the establishment of the Aero Engine Corporation of China, and the breakthrough in key materials like those for single crystal blades, said Wang Mingliang.

Besides the WS-15, the WS-20, China's next generation turbofan engine with a high bypass ratio, is believed to be undergoing tests on the Y-20 large transport aircraft, CCTV reported, citing a photo recently circulating on the internet.

China has been testing two new types of domestically developed engines for the Y-20, the aircraft's chief designer Tang Changhong said at the Airshow China 2021.

In addition to larger engines for fighter jets and transport planes, China is also developing smaller engines, which is a very practical move as such engines would support smaller aircraft such as drones and cruise missiles, said Wang Mingliang.

China's WS-15 turbofan engine undergoes tests, shows improved performance - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

 

[xizhimen]

Strong at getting kicked out by a small country

Even poland can take out russia.

In the past 300 years, many great world conquerers underestimated Russia, and they all paid with their lives for this mistake.

 

[Manomed]

In the past 300 years, many great world conquerers underestimated Russia, and they all paid with their lives for this mistake.

We weren't underestimating Russia

Russia showed us that they were weak lol.

 

[Gary]

A J-20 or even a J-10 can detect an F-35 or F-22
The F-35 is certainly a great improvement towards a contemporary 3rd or 4th generation aircraft - however it's actual (practical) RS isn't better then that of e.g. the Eurofighter. And RS isn't everything, antenna emissions are a given factor as well.

1. Radars can " detect " VLO aircraft, its just a matter of the distance it needs. Powerful land based radars need ~27km to detect the F-35. The tinier radars on board a fighter jet would make the detection distance even shorter.

2. In regards to antennae emissions, modern US radars like the APG-77,81,82 etc are all LPI radars.

3. In regards to the F-35 being a great improvement, pilots who have flown the F-35 knew that flying against the 5th gen = dead.

First-Ever F-35, J-20 Encounter — After A Near Miss, US ‘Replicates’ Chinese Stealth Fighters To Battle USAF Warplanes​

By Sakshi Tiwari

June 11, 2022
Months after the Commander of the Pacific Air Forces of the USAF, General Kenneth Wilsbach revealed that the F-35 had a close encounter with China’s J-20 fighter jet over the East China Sea, the US Air Force is constituting an F-35 aggressor squadron to ‘replicate the threat emerging from China.’

Following the revelations by the US Commander and his unusually positive comments about the Chinese fighter, the PLA Air Force deployed the J-20′ Mighty Dragon’ for training patrols in the East and South China Seas amid rising tensions with the West over the Taiwan issue.
At the time of deployment, a Chinese military analyst Song Zhongping told Chinese state media Global Times that the J-20 would be deployed to potential battlefields and at sea, especially when the American F-35 and F-22 fighters were operating close to China.
In what could be considered an American strategy for preparing for a future confrontation, On June 9, the US Air Force re-established the 65th Aggressor Squadron (AGRS) at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The unit will only fly the F-35A Lightning II and will focus on mimicking China’s superior airpower capabilities.

 

[xizhimen]

We weren't underestimating Russia

Russia showed us that they were weak lol.

They didn't fare well in Soviet Finnish war before WW2, but it didn't stop them to beat the light of Nazi Germany soon after.

 

[Gary]

They didn't fare well in Soviet Finnish war before WW2, but it didn't stop them to beat the light of Nazi Germany soon after.

The Soviet wont win if the West don't intervene. The Studebaker trucks are prolly the single biggest contribution to Soviet union's victory in the war.

Without the Normandy and Italian invasion, soviet offensivein Poland won't work, the allies tie up significant chunk of German troops in the West and South preventing them to meet the Soviets in the East.

This time tho, there's no one that will save Russia, not the West and certainly not your China.

 

[xizhimen]

The Soviet wont win if the West don't intervene. The Studebaker trucks are prolly the single biggest contribution to Soviet union's victory in the war.

Without the Normandy and Italian invasion, soviet offensivein Poland won't work, the allies tie up significant chunk of German troops in the West and South preventing them to meet the Soviets in the East.

This time tho, there's no one that will save Russia, not the West and certainly not your China.

Normandy happened just because the west knew if they still didn't do it, they would get nothing in Europe after the war which was soon to be finished, you can argue, but let's agree to disagree.