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Next Big Future: Reports of improved jet engines in China and development for a mach 5 test plane faster than the SR71 Blackbird
An Aug. 25 report in Beijing-based newspaper China Aviation News praised the engine division of Xi'an-based aeronautic and aerospace firm AVIC Qingan Group. The report mentions a planned project which would see the development of China's first domestically-made
turbofan-ramjet combined cycle engine, designed for an unnamed aircraft. The description of this engine suggests something resembling the Pratt and Whitney J58 variable cycle engine used by the SR-71 Blackbird.
A source close to the PLA Air Force was cited by New Outlook as stating that this is
part of a project to develop a manned supersonic aircraft, currently in the preparation stages at a domestic research institute. The aircraft is expected to have a top speed faster than the Blackbird on completion, according to the source, although the project is yet to be formally launched.
The China Aviation News report stated that in the first half of 2015, the engine division of AVIC Qingan Group finished the design process for three engine products and gained approval for them in May and July.
The article went on to list descriptions of the three engines as China's first domestically developed turbofan-ramjet combined cycle engine designed for an unnamed aircraft, a classic model engine and a classic model engine with a medium bypass ratio. This suggests the latter two are improved versions of the WS-10 and WS-18 turbofan engines.
The turbofan-ramjet combined cycle engine project, however, has never before been made public. The article stated that there is no precedent for the project and that China currently has no suitable heat-resistant materials for the project and therefore will have to contract overseas suppliers, adding that without the appropriate tools, they will have to go about making them from scratch.
A PLA Air Force source told New Outlook that the aircraft that
will use this engine has been in experimental development for several years by an aircraft institute in the southwest. The aim of the project is to surpass the SR-71 Blackbird with a plane that can reach
speeds of almost five-times the speed of sound, which is the upper limit of a ramjet engine. For higher speeds, a supersonic combusting ramjet (scramjet) engine is necessary. The
aircraft is said to be a large manned plane, with a similar design to Mikoyan's mysterious Project 301 hypersonic aircraft.