Just try to look at their photos. Moreover, the RD9 is 4x lighter. The RD 9 is developed from the RD 5 when Tumansky took over the design office from Mikulin. I can't even imagine such a reduction.
Chinese Engine Development
- Thread starter jackbh
- Start date
Hopefully not cause that'll imply the new 6th gens will use them for an extended amount of time. I personally don't want to see any more of advanced airframes paired with last gen engines, I expect from now on Chinese aircraft industry would become like that of the US at its prime which was top tier airframe paired with top tier engines from the get go.
you guys always forget one thing..
there is ACE/VCE program ongoing. and J-36 Chief designer itself confirmed that, Variable cycle engine is going to power this platform.
WS-15 has nothing to do with ACE/VCE.
Yes, of course but they kinda of said the same thing with WS-15 and J-20 and look where we are. I'm just hoping that either WS-15 is only used for the first 1-2 production batches or even better just the LRIP units.
You can chide about “where we are” when the WS-15 is still not in service by 2030. You guys are acting like the WS-15 just turned into the Kaveri. The pouting is getting very silly.
I've written on and off over the last couple of years hinting that it was possible J-20A may enter service with WS-10s rather than WS-15s, which should have been immediately on the cards when we saw the lead J-20A prototype powered by WS-10s.
The fact that J-20A has entered service with WS-10s initially does not necessarily have any decisive implications on the readiness of WS-15s, because at this point there is a whole range of possibilities for how things may go:
- the J-11B example, where the first batch were powered by Al-31s and then powered by WS-10s afterwards exclusively
- the J-10 example, where we had various J-10 prototypes powered by WS-10s but production of all various starting from J-10/A in the mid 2000s remained Al-31s until the late 2010s when they transitioned new builds to WS-10s (except for the CY jets for likely August 1st logistical reasons)
- or anything in between them
Just sit back and observe for now, not everything needs a decisive reaction.
The fact that J-20A has entered service with WS-10s initially does not necessarily have any decisive implications on the readiness of WS-15s, because at this point there is a whole range of possibilities for how things may go:
- the J-11B example, where the first batch were powered by Al-31s and then powered by WS-10s afterwards exclusively
- the J-10 example, where we had various J-10 prototypes powered by WS-10s but production of all various starting from J-10/A in the mid 2000s remained Al-31s until the late 2010s when they transitioned new builds to WS-10s (except for the CY jets for likely August 1st logistical reasons)
- or anything in between them
Just sit back and observe for now, not everything needs a decisive reaction.
About the only thing I can think to add to the discussion surrounding WS-15 over the last couple of pages is to remember that China has a very small commercial aerospace industry. Unlike the United States, China does not produce thousands of commercial turbofans per year. So I think it would be safe to assume that engines like the WS-15 might be subject to delays or technical difficulties because China has a much smaller industrial base for such things.
Yes. The WS-15’s production is part of a massive supply chain buildout process that the Chinese gas turbine industry is still in the early phases of materializing. There was no prior supply chain to support its smooth transition into this level of mass production, especially for all its more advanced components. Every production problem solved for the WS-15 is one problem that is less likely to plague the WS-19 and any other future advanced engines.
Yeah. I want to be careful because I don't want to ignore China's deep industrial base, but the US does have a large advantage in terms of turbofan production output and knowledge base. Unlike US shipbuilding, the US has a healthy civil / military fusion environment for the development and mass production of turbofan engines.