Global Courant
China’s J-20 stealth fighter has flown for the first time with indigenously made WS-15 jet engines, signaling a potential game-changing upgrade for the type.
Last month, The Warzone reported that the test flight took place at the main test airfield of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, located next to the production facilities in the city of the same name.
The Warzone notes that while blurry photos make it difficult to determine whether the J-20 in question installed WS-15 rather than WS-10 engines, nozzle serrations would be a reliable indicator, the former having more nozzle teeth than the latter.
The report also notes that noise indicates whether the pictured J-20 is fitted with new engines, noting that the test aircraft had a relatively deep, dull rumble compared to units equipped with the WS-10.
While Warzone notes that a WS-15-powered J-20 flew in March 2022, it is believed that only one engine was fitted to the aircraft during that test. The report also claims that China has mass-produced WS-10 and WS-15 engines, apparently overcoming technical bottlenecks in mounting the WS-15 to the J-20.
While the performance characteristics of the WS-15 have not been disclosed, Asian Military Review listed April 2023 that thrust is most likely in the range of 150 kilonewtons, similar to the US-made F-22’s Pratt & Whitney F119 engine.
The Pratt & Whitney F119 engine used in F-22s. Image: Pratt & Witney
In April 2022, Global Courant noted that the initial J-20 models used less powerful Russian Saturn 117S and Chinese WS-10C engines, neither of which had enough power to reach desired speeds. The lack of thrust may have made the type vulnerable in dogfights with US fighters.
Those underpowered engines may have also hindered the J-20’s upgrade potential, including with regard to directed energy weapons such as lasers or drone swarms.
The J-20 used Russian AL-31F engines for a period, but that was not a viable option. Russia does not sell standalone AL-31F engines, so China had to buy more Su-35s to get more engines.
However, an unnamed Chinese source quoted in the report said that longer range is the Su-35’s only advantage over the J-20, with the former’s radar, navigation system and other electronic components being relatively be inferior.
Thus, the WS-15 could be a game-changer for the J-20, the type often deployed to the South China Sea with the potential goal of establishing air superiority in the event of a conflict with the US over the disputed waterway.
China began J-20 patrols over the South China Sea in April 2022. As such, the J-20 also poses a formidable challenge to more advanced Southeast Asian air forces, including Singapore’s, which operates the most advanced fighter fleet in the region.
At the same time, the J-20 will utterly outclass weaker air forces in rival naval contenders like the Philippines, which lack multi-role fighters. However, China is likely to only deploy its J-20s in the highest risk scenarios, as they are likely too valuable to lose.
The J-20 may be the only Chinese aircraft to match the US F-35, the only other stealth fighter operating in the region.
In March 2022, an encounter between US F-35s and Chinese J-20s over the East China Sea demonstrated China’s impressive command and control over its fighters, although it remains to be seen how China will deploy its J-20 jets in the framework of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy.
Beyond the South China Sea, China could use its J-20s to attack US bases in the First and Second Island Chains and interdict supply efforts in the event of a disaster in Taiwan.
Global Courant noted in January 2022 that continental powers such as China are emphasizing ground-based air defense, with their fighters deeply integrated into their air defense networks.
China may be trying to expand on that concept by integrating air power into joint offensive and defensive operations to protect critical infrastructure and naval and ground operations.
R Kalidas and other writers note in a 2016 article in the peer-reviewed journal Transactions on Innovations in Science & Technology that the US-made F-22 has a maximum range of 2,960 kilometers, compared to the J-20’s 3,400 kilometers.
With China’s air defense doctrine and the long range of the J-20, Kris Douglas and other writers that the J-20’s large internal volume, lack of autocannon, and supercruise capabilities indicate that it is optimized as a long-range interceptor and air-to-ground attack platform.
In line with that, Military Watch reported in March 2022 that seven People’s Liberation Army-Air Force (PLA-AF) air brigades are now deploying the J-20, with the 172nd Air Brigade in Tianjin, the 9th Air Brigade in Wuhu, and the 1st Air Brigade in Anshan potentially deploying their aircraft in the east deploy China Sea in the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Moreover, Military Watch reported in June 2023 that the PLA-AF 131st Air Brigade based in Hainan has reportedly started operating J-20 fighters, based in that area an optimal location for the defense of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as for strengthening the island’s Longpo Naval Base, which serves as the hub for China’s nuclear submarine operations.
The report notes that Longpo Naval Base would be a likely target for US warplanes in a conflict scenario, making the deployment of the J-20 to Hainan a logical step to secure the strategic area.
An aerial view of the Fiery Cross Reef, or Yongshu Reef, released by the Chinese military. There will be a specially built berth for Chinese carriers. Photo: PLA Daily
Global Courant reported in March 2022 that China has fully militarized Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea. All three areas will now be filled with airfields that could potentially host fighter jets like the J-20.
Those fortified islands could extend the offensive use of China’s air power beyond Hainan and the country’s continental coasts.
US bases such as Jinhae and Busan in South Korea, Okinawa in Japan and Guam in the Pacific can now all be within range of the J-20, with the aircraft capable of launching strikes far from mainland China and airbases on islands before retreating to the coverage of its air defense network.
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