On June 28, public flight footage of the J-20 stealth fighter equipped with China’s self-developed WS-15 engine was released for the first time. The engine has been put on board before, but so far they’ve put a previous tried-and-tested system on at most one side. On the other hand, the current test flight was special because both engines of the fighter were already WS-15. This may indicate significant progress and confidence on the part of the Chinese military leadership.
Now the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) also has a self-developed engine that meets military needs in terms of reliability and payload capacity.
Progress worries Pacific nations, which could crash into fighters in the event of a conflict.
A retired NATO intelligence officer stated that Western countries do not want China to be able to develop modern engines, However, he admitted that he believes China is on the verge of success.
Developing similar engines has been a headache for Beijing for a very long time, they have been trying to develop a modern system for nearly three decades.
Until now, they have usually relied on Russian jet engines in self-developed machines. The completion of the WS-15 has already been seriously delayed, according to plans it was supposed to be delivered by the beginning of the 2010 year.
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The development history of the WS-15 has been marked by several incidents in the past, both in 2015 and 2018. testedBut in both cases the jet engine exploded. The J-20 combat aircraft was first tested in the 2011 year, and now, 12 years later, it can be equipped with self-developed engines. The system is said to be capable of accelerating the J-20 at breakneck speed, with a thrust-to-weight ratio similar to that of the US F-22 Raptor stealth fighter. For now, the WS-15’s downside is its runtime, which is why Beijing is planning further developments with it.
Cover photo credit: Stringer Agency/Anadolu via Getty Images
