Engine issues mean China can't power J-15, J-16 fighters

[Nitin Goyal]

China is unable to produce advanced fighters such as the J-15 and the J-16 in large numbers because it lacks the proper engines to power the aircraft, according to the Moscow-based Military-Industrial Courier on Sept. 8.

According to Kanwa Defense Review, a magazine operated by military analyst Andrei Chang, also known as Pinkov, China is not even capable of producing J-11B fighters due to problems with Shenyang Liming Aircraft Engine Company's WS-10A engine. Similar problems led the People's Liberation Army Navy to cancel their plans to install the WS-10A in the J-15, a carrier-based fighter designed to serve aboard the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier.

Both the PLA Air Force and Navy Air Force have asked to replace the WS-10A with the more reliable Russian-built AL-31F engines, the magazine stated. China is unlikely to get enough AL-31F engines to power all of its J-15 and J-16 fighters when production starts on the aircraft however. The only option left for China is to stop producing more advanced fighters until it is capable of designing the engines the aircraft need.

Sources from the Chinese aviation industry told the Military-Industrial Courier that the PLA is losing its patience with the WS-10A engines. Without proper competition among state-run engine producers, the source said that China is unable to design the engines it needs to power its new aircraft. The Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China suggested that the PLA Air Force use domestic engines anyway to boost the economy.

Engine issues mean China can't power J-15, J-16 fighters｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com

 

[tranquilium]

Yeah, WantChinatimes, according to them, 5th generation fighters can also be detected by spraying magnetic powder to the sky. I would take anything they say with a huge grain of salt.

 

[GR!FF!N]

aint WS-10A in Service already???by the way,they're developing other engines based on WS-10 too,right??

J-11BS fighter to use Chinese-designed Taihang WS-10H engine｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com

so why they want to backtrack it??

Yeah, WantChinatimes, according to them, 5th generation fighters can also be detected by spraying magnetic powder to the sky. I would take anything they say with a huge grain of salt.

thats biased bro.I posted another link from it where they didn't bash China but in fact said China is going to use WS-10A on J-11B.just confirm whether there is any news about this on other sites or not...I heard there is some problem regarding compressor.

 

[GeHAC]

PLAAF and the naval aviation did refuse to receive flankers with WS-10 in 2012(It was said to be adaption problems between the engines and inlets).But now its ok and the mass production is on go.

 

[tranquilium]

aint WS-10A in Service already???by the way,they're developing other engines based on WS-10 too,right??

J-11BS fighter to use Chinese-designed Taihang WS-10H engine｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com

so why they want to backtrack it??

thats biased bro.I posted another link from it where they didn't bash China but in fact said China is going to use WS-10A on J-11B.just confirm whether there is any news about this on other sites or not...I heard there is some problem regarding compressor.

You know, even hard-core anti-China sources like Epoch times publishes unbiased article once a while, but nonetheless these sources are noted for anti-China articles, especially ones that blatantly false. Plus, the article is quoting Pinkov. Ask any Chinese members exactly what the guy's reputation is.

While the development rate of domestic engines does somewhat affect the rate of Chinese fighter productions, that is just about the only part of the article that is even remotely true. For example:
The article is that it claims that PLA navy and air force asked to replace WS-10A with AL-31F, which simply isn't true as the trend over the past few decades has been gradually replacing foreign manufactured equipment with the domestic ones. Both for the issues like security as well as cost.
Also, J-15 production has been continuing despite what the article claims. J-16 isn't official unveiled, so we don't actually know its status yet.
The last bit claiming using domestic engine is for the purpose of "to boost the economy" is plain ridicules. Considering the research investment involved, jet engine is just about the last you want if your purpose is to "boost the economy".

Basically, the article follows the basic propaganda template:
1. get a attention grabbing title
2. quote some sources (even though they may be extremely unreliable)
3. Mix in a few things that is somewhat true
4. Came up with a conclusion that is so ridicules it really isn't worth an answer.

 

[j20blackdragon]

Pure bullcrap, the J-11B which harassed the P-8 was equipped with WS-10. The short, silver nozzles are a dead giveaway.

 

[BoQ77]

We could sometimes see a AMG Mercedes on street
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Still, China has recently entered into a contract for import of 140 AL-31F aircraft engines for USD700 million to be installed on the Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets China imported from Russia and China’s homegrown J-11B/BS, J-15 and J-16 fighters.
As Tiahang engine is still not reliable, seven major batches of the current 4 types of J-10 fighter jets all have to use Russian engines instead of Taihang engine; therefore, China has to import Russian AL-31FN engines for its J-10 fighter jet and has already imported 350 to 400 of them.

Its FC-1 Fierce Dragon exported to Pakistan has to use Russian RD-93 engines; while its newest H-6K bomber and the Y-20 freight aircraft China is developing have to use Russian D-30KP2 turbofan engines. From 2009 to 2001, China has purchased 239 D-30KP2 engines.

Moreover, China’s J-15 carrier-based fighter jets have to use Russian AL-31F cep.3 engines special for carrier-based fighter jets due to their high reliability and satisfactory corrosion resistance.

For China’s J-20 and J-31 fifth-generation fighter jets under development, China has expressed its interest in buying Russian new generation of engines such as 117S engine used on Su-35.

Source: huanqiu.com “Russia says China spends hundreds of million US dollars again to buy Russian engines for its homegrown fighter jets” (summary by Chan Kai Yee based on the report in Chinese)

 

[andy_hujian]

aint WS-10A in Service already???by the way,they're developing other engines based on WS-10 too,right??

J-11BS fighter to use Chinese-designed Taihang WS-10H engine｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com

so why they want to backtrack it??



thats biased bro.I posted another link from it where they didn't bash China but in fact said China is going to use WS-10A on J-11B.just confirm whether there is any news about this on other sites or not...I heard there is some problem regarding compressor.

You probably mean WS-15. The problem is the engine's lifetime is not as long as Russians.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

I stop reading the article when I saw Kanwa and Andrei Chang.

You probably mean WS-15. The problem is the engine's lifetime is not as long as Russians.

The overhaul of the WS-10 engine was 1500 hours back in 2005, and there is a document video about this.

PLAAF and the naval aviation did refuse to receive flankers with WS-10 in 2012(It was said to be adaption problems between the engines and inlets).But now its ok and the mass production is on go.

Dude, you have read too much stuffs from the CD forum or that Maya guy.

I remember that Maya guy kept insisting our J-20 using the AL-31F engine, but his claim has been refuted by the real expert, the PLA General who knows the designer of J-20 in person.

This shows how much credibility from those so-called Internet big shrimps.

 

[cirr]

I am pleased to see that Pinkov the Baldy is still actively working under cover for the Chinese intelligence services。