It’s reported that the chief designer of the WS-15 Emei engine project Cheng Ronghui won two awards for “making a significant breakthrough in leading development of a major model aircraft engine” just before China’s National Day 2019, which sends a strong signal: WS-15 engines may soon be installed on J-20.
It is believed that WS-15 “Emei” vector engine is targeting the US F119 engine but has a larger thrust-to-weight ratio than the F119 engine (11.6 tons of WS-15 vs 10.7 tons of F119 mass version).
The F119 engine is used in the US F-22 stealth aircraft, while WS-15 “Emei” vector engine is expected to allow the J-20 fighter to achieve supersonic cruise and more flexible maneuverability. The WS-10B “Taihang” and the AL31F engine introduced from Russia used in current J-20 fighters have already enabled J-20 to have high-speed maneuverability, but still cannot achieve the full performance state of J-20 fighters.
WS-15 represents the highest level of Chinese aviation engines and is a qualitative breakthrough for China’s aviation industry. The installation of the WS-15 engine on J-20 will give the fighter the ability to compete with the F-22 fighter, and will completely solve the “heart” problem of J-20 since its inception.