China completes construction of medium-thrust aeroengine production line,fitted on JF-17 and FC-31

[beijingwalker]

China completes construction of medium-thrust aeroengine production line
By Liu Xuanzun
Published: Feb 10, 2021 12:00 AM

A Chinese FC-31 stealth fighter has its test flight ahead of the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, Nov 10, 2014. Photo: Xinhua

A Chinese arms firm has recently completed construction of a third-generation medium-thrust aeroengine production line, and analysts said that China can now mass produce warplanes without having to rely on imported engines.

The construction project for the third-generation medium-thrust aeroengine production line has passed an acceptance check following completion of construction, the National Business Daily reported on Monday, citing a statement from Aviation Power Co under the state-owned Aero Engine Corporation of China.

The company is responsible for the development and production of aeroengines for military and civilian purposes, with the focus being military products and scientific research for new engines, the company said on its website.

While the statement did not elaborate on the third-generation medium-thrust aeroengine, Chinese military observers speculated it could be the WS-13 engine, to be used on warplanes including the JF-17 fighter jet jointly developed by China and Pakistan and China’s second stealth fighter jet the FC-31, which is also rumored to become China’s next generation aircraft carrier-based fighter jet in the future.

China has been importing Russia’s RD-93 engines for these purposes, observers said.

The completion of the production line indicates that China has made breakthroughs in aeroengine production, Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times on Tuesday

China will be able to mass produce the engines, which will allow the mass production of warplanes, Xu said.

China completes construction of medium-thrust aeroengine production line - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

 

[Dark1]

Is the jf17 using these engines or Russian ? I thought the Pakistanis preferred the Russian ones due to reliability ?

 

[Han-Tang]

finally! are they going to build another line? after all the demand is huge.

 

[FuturePAF]

Probably going to test the engine on the J-31; one WS-13/19 and One RD-93/93MA

 

[That Guy]

Does this imply that China has been able to get over its quality control issues? Or does it just mean that they're increasing production rate of local engines?

The article talks about breakthroughs, but I'm unsure of what that means.

 

[ozranger]

Does this imply that China has been able to get over its quality control issues? Or does it just mean that they're increasing production rate of local engines?

The article talks about breakthroughs, but I'm unsure of what that means.

They actually didn't have any engine factories for mass manufacturing 3rd or 4th gen, medium thrust turbo fan engines until having this one built.

 

[That Guy]

They actually didn't have any engine factories for mass manufacturing 3rd or 4th gen, medium thrust turbo fan engines until having this one built.

That explains a lot. Thanks for the info, I didn't know this was the case.

 

[siegecrossbow]

My guess would be UAVs/interim engines for the naval fifth gen fighter. Pakistan seems happy with Russian engines and there is no sign that Russians will stop supply.

 

[Dark1]

ANALYSIS: Can China break the military aircraft engine bottleneck?

China's political and aerospace leadership is painfully aware that that its airpower ambitions are severely impeded by the lack of what it calls a "Chinese heart," or modern indigenous aircraft engines.

www.flightglobal.com

Consistency in Heat treatment is really difficult in a industrial process , as any person who has worked in industry will testify.
Furnaces can be very finicky and a process you feel is well settled, will suddenly start producing variable quality and its murder to pinpoint the problem.
And i am talking about ordinary steels and alloys. Metallurgy in jet engines is one of the most complex and the high speeds and stresses test your product on a constant basis.
Even established jet engine manufacturers have faced severe quality issues in lower rated civilian jet engines. Its a very interesting subject.

 

[Deino]

My guess would be UAVs/interim engines for the naval fifth gen fighter. Pakistan seems happy with Russian engines and there is no sign that Russians will stop supply.

Agreed, for me this sounds very much like serial production start for the non-afterburning WS-13 for the GJ-11 and eventually the regular WS-13 for the J-35.

 

[ARMalik]

Probably going to test the engine on the J-31; one WS-13/19 and One RD-93/93MA

You don't ' Mass Produce' an engine or in fact any product if it has not been tested already.

 

[Beast]

 

[Sunny4pak]

Video Link:

 

[FuturePAF]

You don't ' Mass Produce' an engine or in fact any product if it has not been tested already.

Despite it reaching mass production, Its not clear if it has reached the performance and reliability requirements to surpass the RD-93MA. If the PAF chooses it for the JF-17, at some point, it will definitely be a boost in the perception that it has achieved those milestones.

 

[Mrc]

If the same engine is powering j 31 and jf 17 than atleast 50 j 31s shud be procured pretty much immediately as a 400 may be an issue in near future