Is China’s W-15 engine to power J-20 stealth fighter jet nearing completion?
- Video footage of speech by one of the country’s top aviation engine designers suggests maiden flight earlier this year
- Analysts say while the WS-15 appears to be near the end of its development stage, it is too early to predict when it will be put into service
It is unclear if the engine was tested on a J-20 Mighty Dragon but defence experts said that while the news hinted the powerful engine was nearing completion, it was too early to predict when it would be put into service.
Liu Daxiang, a professor with the school of energy and power engineering at Beihang University – previously known as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics – revealed the development late last month, during a keynote speech at an air show in Nanchang, Jiangxi province.
Last week, video footage of Liu’s speech started circulating on Chinese social media platform WeChat. It was widely shared among military enthusiasts but was soon deleted because of its sensitivity.
Liu was a team leader for Asia’s first high-altitude aircraft engine simulation test stand in the 1980s and a top adviser to state-owned Aero Engine Corporation of China.
“The engine with a push-to-weight ratio of 10, developed for our country’s J-20, [has not been] put into service, but it has completed the maiden flight,” he said, according to the video, recorded at the three-day China Aviation Industry Conference and Nanchang Air Show.