http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20150809000086
J-10B still needs Russian engine after domestic engine fails
- Staff Reporter
- 2015-08-09
- 12:13 (GMT+8)
A WS-10 engine. (Internet photo)
After Shenyang Liming Aircraft Engine Company failed to reduce the failure rate of the WS-10 Taihang engine developed for Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group's J-10 fighter, the Chinese jet will have to be equipped with the Russian-built AL31FN-S3 engine, according to the Beijing-based Sina Military Network.
China has successfully fitted its J-11 fighters, the design of which is based on the Russian-built Su-27, with the Taihang engine. This proves that the country is already capable of building engines for advanced combat aircraft. However, the Taihang engine has been proven unsuitable for the J-10 because its bypass ratio is way too big for the fighter, which would reduce the aircraft's maneuverability during supersonic flight, according to the report.
The failure rate of the AL-31FN engine on the J-10 is much higher than the AL-31F on Su-27 fighters. Unlike the Su-27, which is designed as a twin-engine fighter, the J-10 is a single-engine aircraft, meaning that the requirement of the J-10B's engine is even higher than the Su-27 and J-11. Without a proper domestic engine, China must fit the aircraft with the Russian-built engine until the problem is solved.
Until the problem is solved, the development of J-10B can not be completed since the aircraft was originally upgraded to be fitted with a domestic engine.
Besides this technical problem, China needs to prove for political purposes that it is capable of build domestic fighter engines.