The Shenyang WS-15 (), codename Emei, is a Chinese

afterburning An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military aircraft, military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, ta ...

turbofan A turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a combination of references to the preceding generation engine technology of the turbojet and the add ...

engine designed by the Shenyang Aeroengine Research Institute and manufactured by the Shenyang Liming Aircraft Engine Company. The WS-15 is intended to become the main engine of the

Chengdu J-20 The Chengdu J-20 (), also known as Mighty Dragon (, NATO reporting name: Fagin), is a twinjet, twin-engine Night fighter, all-weather Stealth aircraft, stealth fighter developed by China's Chengdu Aircraft Corporation for the People's Liberatio ...

stealth aircraft, enabling it to

supercruise Supercruise is sustained supersonic flight of a supersonic aircraft without using afterburner. Many supersonic military aircraft are not capable of supercruise and can maintain Mach 1+ flight only in short bursts with afterburners. Aircraft s ...

, improve its range, manoeuvrability and upgrade potential for future weapon systems. It will eventually replace the Shenyang WS-10, which currently serves as the interim engine of J-20, while the WS-15 is being refined.

Design and development

Development of the WS-15

engine began in the early 1990s. In 2005, the engine performed successfully on the

testbed A testbed (also spelled test bed) is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computing tools, and new technologies. The term is used across many disciplines to describe experimental research ...

. An image of the core appeared at 2006 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition. In 2009, a prototype achieved and a

thrust-to-weight ratio Thrust-to-weight ratio is a dimensionless ratio of thrust to weight of a rocket, jet engine, propeller engine, or a vehicle propelled by such an engine that is an indicator of the performance of the engine or vehicle. The instantaneous thrust-to-w ...

of 9. The thrust target was reported as in 2012. In March 2022, Chinese state media reported that the J-20 had performed trials with the engine and experienced significantly improved performance. In December 2022, Chinese military analysts indicated the WS-15 was undertaking the last stage of testing and development. Chinese sources suggested the engine completed its maiden flight earlier that year on an unknown airframe. In late December 2022, a prototype of the new J-20 variant was observed at Chengdu Aerospace Corporation facilities. The new variant was painted in yellow primer and different from previous J-20 aircraft in airframe and was speculated to be used to test the WS-15 engine and thrust-vectoring. In March 2023, the executive of

Aero Engine Corporation of China Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) is a Chinese state-owned aerospace manufacturer focused on the design and development of aeroengine and related technology, comprising 46 affiliated companies including engine manufacturers, institutions ...

(AECC) announced that the serial production of the WS-15 had started and that China had " ackledall technical bottlenecks" with the WS-15. ''

FlightGlobal FlightGlobal is an online news and information website which covers the aviation and aerospace industries. The website was established in February 2006 as the website of ''Flight International'' magazine, ''Airline Business'', ''ACAS'', ''Air ...

'' speculated that small-scale production run and in-flight testing with the J-20 fighter was underway. On 29 June 2023, a J-20B equipped with dual WS-15 engines was speculated to have made its maiden flight in Chengdu. Despite the lack of clear pictures, circumstantial evidence such as a photo of the engine installation ceremony, lack of censorship by the authorities, and modified airframe suggested the WS-15 was evidently mounted, though ''Janes'' noted the engines on trial apparently lacks the

thrust vectoring Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to Aircraft flight control system, control the Spacecra ...

control (TVC) paddles, which could be added later. Defense analysts and commentators noted WS-15 was intended to be the ultimate engine for the J-20, providing supercruise capability, enhanced reliability, improved maneuverability, better

fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency (or fuel economy) is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical energy, chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or Mechanical work, w ...

and longer ranges, extra electricity production, and upgrade potential for the fighter. Spending several decades of development, the induction of the WS-15 into the Chinese military was seen as a technological leap in China's domestic aviation industry. Guizhou incorporated many of the same technology as on the WS-15 to develop the WS-19, a 10-ton thrust engine with the same footprint as the earlier Guizhou WS-13.

Specifications

References

{{People's Republic of China military aeroengines Low-bypass turbofan engines 2000s turbofan engines

Design and development

Specifications

See also

References