People's Liberation Army Air Force : News & Discussions

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J-10B TVC Demonstrator Performing Cobra Maneuver At Zhuhai 2018
 
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PKS's brief history on China's quest for self reliance in the field of turbofans -



  1. The engines are AL-31FNs. Beijing, on the other hand, has dramatically stepped up the development of new-generation turbofans and turboshafts since the turn of the century, with at least US$23.7 billion being invested on R & D activities between 2010 and 2015. The principal R & D players are the Shenyang Liming Aero-Engine Group for the Shenyang Aircraft Co; Xi’an Aero-Engine Group for the Xi’an Aircraft Co; and Chengdu Aero-Engine Group/Guizhou Liyang Aero-Engine Group for the Chengdu Aircraft Co. In addition, AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engines (ACAE), a company formed in August 2016 with an investment of around $7.5 billion and through the merger of 24 companies with about 10,000 employees, is spearheading the development of turbofans for commercial airliners and business jets now being developed by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, Ltd (COMAC). Being developed are the 78kN-thrust CJ-500 turbofan and the 80kN-thrust WS-12C Tianshan turbofan for mid-sized business jets, the 340kN-thrust CJ-2000 turbofan for the Sino-Russian CR-929 widebody airliner, and the 196kN thrust CJ-1000AX Changjiang turbofan for the C-919 narrow-body airliner. This is a twin-spool, unmixed, high-bypass ratio direct-driven turbofan with clockwise co-rotating spool and five bearing-support struts for rotors. It includes a first-stage fan, three-stage booster section, 10-stage high-pressure compressor, single annular combustor section, two-stage high-pressure (HP) turbine and a six-stage low-pressure (LP) turbine.

  2. The Shenyang-Liping WS-20 high-bypass turbofan for the Xian Aircraft Industrial Corp Y-20 Kunpeng strategic airlifter has been developed to produce 14 metric tonnes of thrust, which will enable the Y-20 to achieve its maximum payload of 66 metric tonnes. Touted as China’s most powerful turbofan to be developed to date, the WS-20 has been flight-tested on an IL-76 testbed since 2014. The WS-10A is a low-bypass, two-shaft turbofan in the 130kN-thrust class. This engine had a TBO of only 30 hours, while the AL-31F turbofan powering the Su-27 had a 400-hour TBO. The WS-10A has suffered blade warp and destruction both during ground testing and also under high-RPM, rapid-turn conditions in flight that produce high centrifugal and g-forces. China’s third-generation single-crystal turbine blades can withstand temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius) and have found application on the 140kN thrust WS-10B turbofanm which has a TTSL of 1,500 hours. However, China still is far away from mastering the production technologies for superalloys, thermal barrier coatings, powder metallurgy, and single-crystal blades using rare-earth metals. The 150kN-thrust WS-15 Emei, designed for the Chengdu J-20 stealthy MRCA, exploded during a ground running test in 2015 due to quality-control issues with its single-crystal turbine blades. Lastly, there is the 49kN-thrust Minshan turbofan that has been developed for the for Hongdu L-15 LIFT. Turboshaft engines already developed by China include the 1,300shp WZ-9 for attack helicopters, 2,400shp WZ-10 for medium-lift helicopters, and the 525shp WZ-161 for light medium twin helicopters.
 
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Very informative, thx for sharing. But I think it's a mistake to look at Chinese future capabilities only, when we see PLAAF operations right now in the Tibet region. Check the last tweet in post #39 for example.

I believe aircrafts like Y-20, AG600 and of course H-20 stealth bomber are the biggest threat to India.
 
Beijing’s airpower goals tightly related to USA: Rand

Beijing’s airpower goals tightly related to USA: RAND

A new Rand Corporation report has highlighted China’s development of modern airpower capabilities in the context of its perceived rivalry with the USA.

The report notes that the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the industrial base supporting it has taken great strides in the last two decades.

“While the PLAAF is evolving from a low baseline, it nonetheless has developed substantially in recent years beyond its traditional limited role of air defence over the Chinese homeland and has overcome the associations that put the entire service under a cloud following an alleged coup d’etat against Mao Zedong in 1971,” it says.

“However, the PLAAF still provides a stark contrast to China’s strategic missile and space programs, which were developed indigenously and protected from political and economic infighting, even during the Cultural Revolution.”

Given China’s relative lack of an aerospace heritage compared with the USA and other nations, Beijing has sought to copy capabilities in certain areas, while developing innovative solutions in others. Developments have two key drivers: protecting the ruling Communist party, and scenarios around a possible conflict over Taiwan, which China views as a breakaway province.

One area of a common emphasis between the USA and China is in air superiority fighters, with the report noting that the Chengdu J-20 and AVIC FC-31 “appear to copy substantial features of the [Lockheed Martin] F-22 and F-35.”

Beijing is also placing a greater emphasis on airborne early warning & control (AEW&C), UAVs for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and air-to-air refuelling.

Areas where Beijing places less emphasis include training and exercises, bombers and precision strike, and close air support. It notes, however, that work is underway to make PLAAF training less scripted. As for bombers, Beijing prefers relying on cruise and ballistic missiles.

The lack of emphasis in these areas stems from what Rand sees as Beijing’s focus on deterring or defeating the USA should the two countries come into direct confrontation. The report notes, however, that Beijing is developing advanced bomber capabilities, such as the yet-to-be-unveiled Xian H-20, which would resemble the Northrop Grumman B-2 operated by the USAF.

“When foreign purchases [of defence technology] are not an option, China has generally sought to steal foreign technology designs or observe foreign practices with an eye toward copying and adapting them to suit the PLA’s needs,” it says.

Alternatively, when purchase or stealing/copying are not feasible, China has sought to innovate solutions to its military problems.”
 
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