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China’s J-15 Carrier Based Fighters Dump Russian Engines For Indigenous WS-10: Joining Broad Fleetwide Trend
November-24th-2022
J-15 on Carrier Liaoning
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s prime carrier based fighter class the
J-15 Flying Shark has been seen for the first time integrating indigenous WS-10B engines. The development marks a major milestone in both China's aircraft carrier programs and in the development of the country's aircraft engine industry, and follows a broader trends towards Chinese fighter units phasing out their Russian built AL-31 powerplants in favour of the WS-10. The J-15 first entered service in 2012 as a carrier based derivative of the land based
J-11B heavyweight air superiority fighter, and while both classes used Russian engines at the time the first J-11 unit was confirmed to have
transitioned from the AL-31 to the WS-10B in January 2022. This was followed by reports earlier in November than lightweight single engine J-10B fighter units had also begun to retire their AL-31s and
integrate the WS-10B, doing so long before the Russian engines’ service lives had expired.
The J-15’s requirements for carrier based operations, often in weather where corrosion risks are high, were likely key factors in making it the last fighter the WS-10 was certified for. The WS-10 is considered to offer a superior performance and greater reliability than the AL-31, with engines considered the final area in which China's combat aviation sector belatedly bridged the gap with that of Russia. Over 70 J-15s are thought to be
in service making it the most widely used carrier based fighter class outside the United States Military, although numbers are expected to continue to grow as the carrier fleet rapidly expands. An
enhanced variant of the J-15, the J-15B, has begun production in China’s Shenyang province and is expected to form the backbone of the air wing of the Navy's Type 003 Class supercarriers - the first of which was
launched in June 2022.
China Begins Phasing Out Russian Engines From Single Engine Fighter Units: J-10s Get WS-10 Turbofan
November-22nd-2022
J-10 Fighter During Takeoff
https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/cia-stealth-network-ukraine-proxy-war-russia
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has begin to re-engine its J-10B fighter aircraft with indigenous WS-10B powerplants, retiring their original Russian-supplied AL-31 engines long before their service lives expired. This follows confirmation in January that twin engine J-11B fighters, which serve as heavier longer ranged counterparts to the J-10Bs, have also begun to see their AL-31 engines retired in favour of the WS-10B. The J-11B’s entry into service around 2008 marked a turning point in which China’s aviation industry
began producing fighters broadly on par with their Russian counterparts in terms of performance, with imports of combat aircraft declining sharply from that time as a distinct Chinese qualitative and technological edge
began to materialise in the 2010s. China’s engine industry nevertheless remained behind its overseas rivals, forcing a continued reliance on the AL-31 to power indigenous J-10 and J-11 fighters. The AL-31 first became operational in the Soviet Air Force in 1985, and was the most powerful engine integrated onto a Cold War era fighter providing the Su-27, the first aircraft to use it, with very high degrees of manoeuvrability. Almost all Russian fighters continue to rely on the AL-31 and its derivatives today, primarily due to the results of the economic and industrial decline in the country which followed the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
J-11BG with WS-10 Series 3 Engines
The WS-10B was first integrated onto the J-11, with the J-10 presenting a higher risk due to its single engine design and lack of engine redundancy. The beginning of integration of the indigenous powerplant onto the J-10 in the late 2010s was thus widely seen to indicate that Chinese turbofan engines had attained a very high degree of reliability. China had produced reliable turbojet engines for single engine fighters throughout much of the Cold War, namely for its J-7 fighter which saw several hundred units exported across the world, but having fallen behind Soviet and U.S. technologies by the end of the conflict it took considerable time and investment to bridge the gap. The development of the WS-10C engine has thus been a further landmark, and although only 91 percent as powerful as the top engine for an American twin engine jet, the F-22’s F119, it still provided the indigenous
J-20 fifth generation fighter with a supercruise capability and improved range and reliability over the enhanced AL-31 derivative which the J-20 was previously reliant on. The engine
made the J-20 the
only supercruise capable fifth generation fighter to be both operational and in production worldwide - meaning it could fly supersonically for sustained periods without using its afterburners.
J-10 Fighters
The phasing out of the AL-31 from J-10 units will help to standardise the fleet of J-10s, J-11s, newer J-16s, and carrier based J-15s, on variants of the WS-10B. The engine reportedly reduces fighters’ maintenance needs and provides superior performance and greater reliability over Russian engine designs. The J-10 is one of the most widely fielded fighters in the Chinese fleet, and while older J-10A variants may well not receive the upgrade the much more capable J-10B and J-10C likely all will. A significantly possibility remains that the J-10 fleet will be re engined again before retirement, with China’s fighter engine industry
breaking new ground with the development of the
WS-15 powerplant to power the J-20 fighter - an engine which will reportedly be the most powerful ever used on a twin engine fighter. Development of such engines will likely lead to the application of many of their technologies onto powerplants for fourth generation fighters, which could make a successor to the WS-10B much more efficient, reliable, powerful and low maintenance.