AVIC Chengdu recently released a promotion film “Chengfei Edition Reworkers Alliance”. At the end of this film, a newly delivered J-10C fighter jet with a gray coating slid out of the test flight station apron for a test flight. And the fighter ’s engine nozzle appears to be very different from the past. Judging from the shorter length and dark silver. engine nozzle, this is obviously not a Russian-made AL-31FN engine, but a homemade Taihang engine of China.
This indicates that the new batch of J-10C fighters will use China’s domestic Taihang engine for the first time. The J-10C has a semi-stealth design such as DSI intake ducts and a coated canopy. For the first time, J-10C adopted an active phased array airborne fire control radar. It has the use of a new generation of mid-range air-to-air missiles such as the PL-15 missiles and new precision ground strike weapons. However, its engine is still the Russian-made AL-31FN series. The Russian media unveiled that it is the AL-31FN (series 3) engine with an increased thrust – reaching 13.5 tons.
Before this, the domestic Taihang engine of China had a long trial on J-10B fighters. Two J-10B prototypes were equipped with Taihang engines before, and their reliability was verified for a long time. And no. 1034 J-10B prototype was also equipped with a Taihang engine with thrust vector nozzles for the first time. In 2018, at Zhuhai Air Show, a J-10B fighter soared into the sky and conducted a series of hard maneuver actions such as the well-known “Cobra”.
It is unclear whether the Taihang engines on the new batch of J-10C’s is the same as the WS-10B engines on J-16 fighters. It was rumored that the thrust of WS-10B is higher than that of WS-10A engines on J-11B and its afterburning thrust is increased to 14 tons. Perhaps it is also equipped with the full digital electronic control system (FEDAC). And the latest version of WS-10C engine is expected to benchmark General Electric’s F110-GE-132 engine used in the latest version of F-16 fighters, which has an afterburning thrust of up to 142KN (14.5 tons).
In the past two years, twin-engined J-11B fighters equipped with WS-10A engines have repeatedly won prizes in Chinese air force competitions such as the Air Force’s Golden Helmet and Sky Eagle Cup. It is said that compared to the AL-31F on the J-11A, the WS-10A has weaknesses such as insufficient thrust and slow throttle response.
However, on the J-16 fighters, the WS-10B engine with increased thrust and FEDAC control device was put into use. According to military analyst Youlijintianbufuchou, it is a product of addressing targeted shortcomings of the WS-10A.
Since a number of J-11B/BS and J-16 fighters have been commissioned, plus the number of spare engines, the number of WS-10A and WS-10B delivery should have reached hundreds or even thousands, accumulating valuable usage data and seeing improved reliability and refurbishment life.