The Chinese military showed a J-20 fighter jet with Chinese WS-10C engines at an air show in Zhuhai. Previously, the aircraft was equipped with Russian turbojet dual-circuit powerplants AL-31FN. As reported by Flightglobal, at what stage of development is the WS-15 engine, which was originally planned to equip the Chinese fighter, is unknown.
The development of the J-20 started in the late nineties, and in 2011 the first prototype of the fighter took off. The aircraft is built according to the aerodynamic scheme "duck" with a high-triangular wing plan, coupled with the fuselage. The all-rotating keels of the aircraft have a large angle of deviation to the sides from the longitudinal axis, and the engine nacelles are located under the wings.
The technical characteristics of the J-20 are not officially disclosed. It is assumed that its length is 20.4 meters, the wingspan is 13.5 meters, and the maximum take-off weight is 36.3 tons. The aircraft can reach speeds of up to 2.1 thousand kilometers per hour. Although the Chinese military themselves classify it as the fourth generation, in the world it is periodically referred to as the fifth, since the fighter corresponds to it in a number of characteristics.
The J-20 entered service with the Chinese Air Force in 2017. It was equipped with two Russian turbojet dual-circuit engines with an afterburner AL-31F-M2 with a thrust of about 88 kilonewtons, which were planned to be replaced by Chinese WS-15 jet engines with a thrust of 180 kilonewtons.
Photos of the J-20 with Chinese WS-10C engines began to appear back in 2019. It is assumed that the thrust of this power plant is about 142 kilonewtons.
The military demonstrated the J-20 fighter jet with WS-10C engines for the first time at the Zhuhai Airshow. The aircraft took part in the flight program. What happens to the WS-15 engine, which was originally planned to equip the Chinese fighter, is still unknown. Chinese observers believe that only with this power plant, the fighter will be able to fully realize its potential.
Earlier we wrote that the J-20 will become the basis for the development of a whole family of combat aircraft. And the developments under the program will be used in the project of the next generation fighter.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva