Problems with China's indigenous jet engine programmes are putting the People's Liberation Army (PLA) at odds with the country's defence procurement bodies.
The most visible issue is problems with the WS-10A jet engine made by Shenyang-based Liming Aeroengine Manufacturing Corporation. This powerplant is supposed to be a close analogue of the Russian-made Lyulka AL-31F, and the Gas Turbine Establishment (GTE) engine division of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has had plans for years to replace the Russian engine on all of the aircraft currently powered by it with the WS-10A.
The AL-31F jet engine has been bought by China in different variants: some were standard production models purchased to power the Russian-designed Sukhoi Su-27SKs that were assembled under licence at the Shenyang Aircraft Works (SAC) in Liaoning Province; others were bought for shipment to SAC's major rival in China's fighter aircraft sector, Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC), in the capital of Sichuan Province.