China has fixed improved WS-15 engine so J-20 stealth fighter will start mass production

The South China Morning Post reports that China has fixed the WS-15 engine problems which have delayed mass production of the J-20 stealth fighter.

The WS-15 were largely related to blades overheating at top speeds. There have now been successful ground tests and trial flights of the corrected WS-15.

China has needed the more powerful WS-15 for a domestically produced engine for the J-20. Previously they either used underpowered engines or older Russian engines. Russian engines have been a generation behind US engines and the Chinese were only getting inferior Russian engines.

China expects the US to deploy between 200 and 300 F-35s in Asia by 2025. China wants at least 200 J-20s. China could produce 500 J-20B, more than the future total number of other fifth-generation fighter jets in Asia-Pacific.

In April 2018, it was reported that Chengdu Aerospace Corporation, was set to open a fourth production line for the stealth fighter in 2019.

China has produced 8 prototypes and 20+ initial production fighters that using stop-gap engines.

The prototype is believed to be initially powered by WS-10 or the Russian AL-31F engines. The WS-15 will take the J-20 to a higher performance level and enable it to supercruise. The LRIP model is equipped with two WS-10B engines, an improved model based on the engine equipped on J-10.

The WS-15 thrust target was reported as 180 kilonewtons (40,000 lbf) in 2012. There are some claims that the WS-15 has reached a higher thrust level than the current F135.

The F119 engine derivative, the F135, produces 40,000 lbf (180 kN) of thrust for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

If the WS-15 meets design goals then J-20B’s cruise speed will be Mach 1.8 and maximum speed exceeds Mach 2.2. Those would equal the US F-22.

The US F-22 was in production for 15 years (1996-2011), at a rate of roughly two per month during peak production. China would be about 23 years behind US jet and jet engine technology. China could possibly achieve in 2019 what the US had in 1996). China stole US F22 and F35 designs and technology. Around 2030, China could have 500 J20B and 100 J20 and J20A stealth fighters. The US would have 185 F22 and perhaps 1500 F35s.

21 thoughts on “China has fixed improved WS-15 engine so J-20 stealth fighter will start mass production”

  1. Because Fighter Jet Engines are different from Passenger plane engines, and cargo plane engines And these engines are different from the engines used in cars, ships etc… They could make their own, they have the technology but technology doesn’t allow you to bypass engineering For instance most people have the technology on how to make a brick house, they may know how to make roman cement and bricks from scratch and they may even have everything they need in their backyard to build a backyard furnace to bake the bricks. But doing so would require a lot of effort, so people would rather buy a brick house than making it themselves Fighter jet engines are unique in that other countries currently refuse to sell them to China

  2. Because Fighter Jet Engines are different from Passenger plane engines and cargo plane enginesAnd these engines are different from the engines used in cars ships etc… They could make their own they have the technology but technology doesn’t allow you to bypass engineeringFor instance most people have the technology on how to make a brick house they may know how to make roman cement and bricks from scratch and they may even have everything they need in their backyard to build a backyard furnace to bake the bricks. But doing so would require a lot of effort so people would rather buy a brick house than making it themselves Fighter jet engines are unique in that other countries currently refuse to sell them to China

  3. Because Fighter Jet Engines are different from Passenger plane engines, and cargo plane engines

    And these engines are different from the engines used in cars, ships etc…

    They could make their own, they have the technology but technology doesn’t allow you to bypass engineering

    For instance most people have the technology on how to make a brick house, they may know how to make roman cement and bricks from scratch and they may even have everything they need in their backyard to build a backyard furnace to bake the bricks.

    But doing so would require a lot of effort, so people would rather buy a brick house than making it themselves

    Fighter jet engines are unique in that other countries currently refuse to sell them to China

  4. Comparing any modern engine to the SR71 engine is silly. That thing was designed in 1958-1965. Thrust to weight and time between overhaul and specific fuel consumption, etc. – war of attrition and all. Many FOM for comparison not just thrust. That is why comparison to J58 is retarded.

  5. Comparing any modern engine to the SR71 engine is silly. That thing was designed in 1958-1965.Thrust to weight and time between overhaul and specific fuel consumption etc. – war of attrition and all. Many FOM for comparison not just thrust. That is why comparison to J58 is retarded.

  6. Not propaganda, if its REAL then the correct terms is NEWS You can verify all these numbers yourself Engine performance is typically measured using thrust weight ratio The WS-15 outperforms every fighter engine in use other than the F135 which is used in the F-35 which is a single engine plane, so it has a single engine other than a dual engine. So it is comparing apples to oranges because a single engine plane would have different specifications With the WS-15 the J-20 matches the F-22 speed of 1.8 supercruise and over 2 for afterburners Everything in Godfree’s post is NEWS, not propaganda China is the first country designing 7nm processors And they are leading the world in both exascale and quantum computers Google + Dwave are no leading in quantum computers, because the computers they are designing are not true quantum computers since they use Quantum Error Correction

  7. Not propaganda if its REAL then the correct terms is NEWSYou can verify all these numbers yourselfEngine performance is typically measured using thrust weight ratioThe WS-15 outperforms every fighter engine in use other than the F135 which is used in the F-35 which is a single engine plane so it has a single engine other than a dual engine.So it is comparing apples to oranges because a single engine plane would have different specifications With the WS-15 the J-20 matches the F-22 speed of 1.8 supercruise and over 2 for afterburnersEverything in Godfree’s post is NEWS not propaganda China is the first country designing 7nm processorsAnd they are leading the world in both exascale and quantum computersGoogle + Dwave are no leading in quantum computers because the computers they are designing are not true quantum computers since they use Quantum Error Correction

  8. Comparing any modern engine to the SR71 engine is silly. That thing was designed in 1958-1965.

    Thrust to weight and time between overhaul and specific fuel consumption, etc. – war of attrition and all. Many FOM for comparison not just thrust. That is why comparison to J58 is retarded.

  9. Pratt & Whitney F119: 91kN GE F-15K: 131kN Izdeliye-30: 123 kN (27,600 lb) with afterburning in the AL-31F, 137 kN (30,800 lb) in the AL-31FM (AL-35F) and 145 kN (32,000 lb) in the AL-37FU variants. Shenyang WS-10: 140 kN P&W J58 (SR-71 Blackbird): 150kN The Shenyang WS-15: 160kN. Looks like that game is over. Now the race is on for 7nm chips! (Oops! Huawei just won that race). What’s next, I wonder? An exascale and a general purpose quantum computer for the 2021 centennial?

  10. Pratt & Whitney F119: 91kNGE F-15K: 131kNIzdeliye-30: 123 kN (27600 lb) with afterburning in the AL-31F 137 kN (30800 lb) in the AL-31FM (AL-35F) and 145 kN (32000 lb) in the AL-37FU variants. Shenyang WS-10: 140 kNP&W J58 (SR-71 Blackbird): 150kN The Shenyang WS-15: 160kN.Looks like that game is over. Now the race is on for 7nm chips! (Oops! Huawei just won that race).What’s next I wonder? An exascale and a general purpose quantum computer for the 2021 centennial?

  11. Not propaganda, if its REAL then the correct terms is NEWS

    You can verify all these numbers yourself

    Engine performance is typically measured using thrust weight ratio

    The WS-15 outperforms every fighter engine in use other than the F135 which is used in the F-35 which is a single engine plane, so it has a single engine other than a dual engine.

    So it is comparing apples to oranges because a single engine plane would have different specifications

    With the WS-15 the J-20 matches the F-22 speed of 1.8 supercruise and over 2 for afterburners

    Everything in Godfree’s post is NEWS, not propaganda

    China is the first country designing 7nm processors

    And they are leading the world in both exascale and quantum computers

    Google + Dwave are no leading in quantum computers, because the computers they are designing are not true quantum computers since they use Quantum Error Correction

  12. Pratt & Whitney F119: 91kN

    GE F-15K: 131kN

    Izdeliye-30: 123 kN (27,600 lb) with afterburning in the AL-31F, 137 kN (30,800 lb) in the AL-31FM (AL-35F) and 145 kN (32,000 lb) in the AL-37FU variants.

    Shenyang WS-10: 140 kN

    P&W J58 (SR-71 Blackbird): 150kN

    The Shenyang WS-15: 160kN.

    Looks like that game is over. Now the race is on for 7nm chips! (Oops! Huawei just won that race).

    What’s next, I wonder? An exascale and a general purpose quantum computer for the 2021 centennial?

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