Has China's Air Superiority Fighter, the J-20, received an indigenous and capable engine after years of effort?
Bringing the WS-15 to successful operational status is an important milestone for Chinese aviation. The fact that the J-20 has an engine that provides the range/load performance for which it was originally designed makes this fighter a serious concern for the US and other US allies in the Pacific.
Neither the western world nor Russia; no one wanted the Chinese to be able to design and produce their own jet engines. They even tried to prevent it as much as they could.
The military aviation sector of the People's Republic of China established its pattern of achieving technological milestones half a century ago, but then remained completely silent about these developments during major international exhibitions, where a newsworthy development would normally be announced with great fanfare. It did not want to attract excessive attention from its competitors with its developments and improvements.
In recent months, a video of the J-20 making its first public flight equipped with a pair of Xi'an-built "Emei" Woshan-15 (WS-15) "Emei", the newest variant of the two Xi'an-built Woshan-15s, has been exclusively published in the virtual world. The WS-15 has been under continuous development since 1990, with multiple variants developed between WS-10 and WS-15.
In 2022, two WS-15s, one old and one new variant, were installed on the aircraft to give the J-20 a boost, but since the desired efficiency could not be obtained, the J-20 could not continue its flight with these engines.
The J-20's flight with two WS-15s is considered by aviation experts to be a sign of maturity and confidence after years of delays, and an important sign that the WS-15 is ready for effective operational missions.
Finally, the successful operationalisation of the WS-15 is an important milestone for Chinese aviation.
The fact that the J-20 has an engine that provides the range/load performance for which it was originally designed makes this fighter a serious concern for the United States and other US allies in the Pacific.
Prior to the WS-15, the J-20 used the AL-31FN produced by Russia's Salyut/Lyulka and successive WS-10 variants produced by China's Shenyang Liming Aircraft Engine Company. It is claimed that the WS-15 provides a significant increase in performance compared to these engines.
Yes, no one wanted the Chinese to be able to design and produce their own jet engines because gaining this capability would mean increasing their air power capacity to another dimension, but whether their competitors want it or not, the Chinese seem to be close to this goal.
WS-15 is a Very Long Development Challenge
The development of the WS-15 jet engine designs was about 45 years of struggle of the Chinese. The military aircraft programmes of the Chinese aviation industry have had to depend almost entirely on jet engines manufactured by and imported from Russia. This included China's prestige aircraft, the J-20.
What Does J-20's New Engine WS-15 Mean for China?
A Chinese military think tank researcher explained the significance of the WS-15 test flight as follows: "After 12 years since the J-20's first flight in 2011, the Chinese Air Force has finally got the engine it has been waiting for nearly half a century."
J-20 with twin WS-15 engines
The weight thrust ratio of the WS-15 Emei engine is probably greater than 10, which brings it closer to the performance of the F-22A's F119 engine. However, experts who closely follow this engine state that the WS-15 does not yet have the durability of American designed engines.
There is no confirmation yet that China has started mass production of the WS-15. However, it will be installed on J-20s within a certain plan, and at the same time the process of developing new variants will continue.
