If in the past China was so dependent on the supply of fighter jet engines from Russia, then thanks to relatively progressive reverse engineering, now China is not only able to produce jet engines from within the country, more than that, Russian-made engines that now equip most of Xi Jinping's fighter fleet, will be replaced with domestically produced jet engines. Even more bombastic, Russian-made machines will be replaced long before their operational period ends.
Quoting from bulgarianmilitary.com (21/11/2022), China is said to be making rapid progress in the development of its national jet engine. Most of the single-engine fighter Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon is currently still using the Russian-made Saturn AL-31 engine. Sources on wikipedia.org said that those installed on the J-10 were the AL-31FN and AL-31FN series 3 variants, produced by NPC Salyut.
Well, reportedly the Saturn AL-31 will no longer power the Chengdu J-10. The reason is that China has developed the WS-10B engine produced by the Shenyang Liming Aircraft Engine Company. There has even been an order for the replacement of the Russian engine of the J-10.
Still from the same source, China claims to be able to prove that the WS-10B is superior to the Russian AL-31 engine, moreover the engine replacement will be carried out before the AL-31's service life ends.
Not only that, the WS-10B engine will also be installed on the engine for the Shenyang J-11B twin-engine fighter jet. Sources in China claim that in January 2023, the installation of the WS-10B on J-11B fighter jets will begin.
To be even more specific, the J-11 was the first fighter to receive the WS-10B last year. From a tactical point of view, the installation of the new engine in the J-11B is important, because this fighter often overlaps with the J-10 during military operations.
The Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-11 are the beginning of a new era in Chinese fighter jet manufacturing. Both were launched respectively in 2005 and 2008 . And currently, the combination of the J-10 and J-11 is the main pillar of strength of the Chinese Air Force's fighter fleet.
The WS-10B also serves as the basis for the development of the WS-10C engine, which is the engine that powers the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter, primarily to provide supercruise capability. Interestingly, at the initial stage, the J-20 is also powered by the Russian AL-31 engine.
The phasing out of the Russian engine from the Chengdu J-10 fighter jet will likely cover all operational combat aircraft. Currently, China has produced more than 540 J-10s, of which 25 have been sold to Pakistan.
Although little information is out of China, sources say that the new WS-10B engine requires less maintenance. Chinese-made engines are also said to provide excellent performance and greater reliability than Russian-made engines. And more importantly, the removal of the AL-31 from the J-10 unit will help standardize engines on China's fighter jet fleet.
Several sources in China claim that the J-10 fleet will undergo another engine-related modification. Rumor has it that at the end of the J-10's life cycle, at some point the WS-10B will be phased out and replaced with the engine currently under development, the WS-15.
This engine will also power the J-20 stealth fighter in the future. This engine is claimed to be the most powerful turbofan engine ever developed by China.
For the record, the Saturn AL-31 is a turbofan jet engine which was released in several variants and has been produced outside Russia. Apart from NPO Saturn, UMPO and NPC Salyut, the AL-31 is also produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India.
The AL-31 variant is also the runway for the Sukhoi Su-27, Su-30, Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets, as well as the Sukhoi S-70B Okhotnik-B combat drone.
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