Posted on 02/10/2018 11:08:12 AM PST by BenLurkin
Without saying how many were in operation, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force confirmed on Friday that the J-20, the country’s fifth-generation fighter, had entered combat service, meaning it was combat-ready.
However, the aircraft was equipped with inferior engines designed for earlier warplanes when it first joined the air force in March last year because “critical problems” with its tailor-made WS-15 engine, exposed by an accident in 2015, had not been fixed, two independent military sources told the Post.
“The WS-15 engine designed for the J-20 exploded during a ground running test in 2015,” one source said, adding that no one was injured in the accident.
“The explosion indicated the WS-15 is not reliable, and so far there is no fundamental solution to overcome such a problem … that’s why the J-20 is using WS-10B engines now.”
The WS-10B is a modified version of the WS-10 Taihang engine, which was designed for the country’s fourth-generation J-10 and J-11 fighters.
The explosion was confirmed by another source close to the military, who said the reasons it happened were complicated, with one being the quality control of its single-crystal turbine blades, the key component for such a powerful turbofan engine.
(Excerpt) Read more at scmp.com ...
ping
The only solution is to buy Russian engines.
Perhaps they can steal the technology needed from GE or Pratt and Whitney
If Mrs. Clinton had been elected, it would have been arranged.
For the right price, of course.
They already did steal it. It the process control they can’t master.
Let’s hope the Chicoms steal GE’s technology for making refrigerators.
They’ll be out of business in no time.
Why do Chinese warplanes always look like clones of U.S. warplanes?
bttt
Because Hitlery failed to gain the presidency where she could have provided the ChiComs with top of the line engine technology.
“Why do Chinese warplanes always look like clones of U.S. warplanes?“
To be fair, the laws of physics, aerodynamics, and the limitations of technology apply to everbody.
With that being said, I wonder how those planes get off the ground given the size and weight of the Chinese pilots’ b*lls. There isn’t enough money on this planet to get me in one.
Maybe we should ship them some engines from Pratt and Whitney aircraft.
That is if they haven’t stolen the plans already.
Because they assumed that the blueprints for an improved engine would be forthcoming under an HRC presidency, and that was a perfectly valid assumption.
Makes me wonder what a “single crystal turbofan engine “ is.
That said, Chinese planes look like ours because they reverse engineer Russian planes, which use our technology.
What the matter, couldn’t steal a good design?
It’s not the single crystal turbine blades that’s
the problem, it’s inserting them with hammers that
causes them to fail.
Actually happened to Soviet aircraft during WW II.
Wings were falling off so the designer watched them
assemble one, when the main spar holes didn’t line up
they were driving the bolts home with a sledge hammer.
There is a huge gap between claiming to have a stealth fighter; and, having one that actually works. Add in the fact that the Chicoms don’t have the pilot training to fly them effectively.
This is sort of like the Chinese navy building aircraft carriers. Even if they could build one that might be able to function, good luck with operating them and managing flight ops and maintenance.
With stealth you get egg roll.
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