I'm betting on a military variant of the CJ-2000.
Chinese Engine Development
- Thread starter jackbh
- Start date
Probably uprated WS-20 for heavy transport.
Cj2000 is a civilian designation,likely ws35 was her military designation
If the WS-35 is an uprated WS-20 it'd be a "WS-20[X]" and not a whole new designation. Simple uprated don't need a whole new designation unless the change is extremely drastic (e.g. WS-13 -> WS-21).
I think uprated isn't the right word. I mean just like WS-13 to WS-21 or F404 to F414 change. They keep the same core of WS-20 but change the components to increase its thrust.
Why do that when you can just get the militarized CJ1000A? Plus the jump from 20 to 35 is just too much as a mere "core refresh." Plus, "WS-35" matches with the AEF-3500 engine, so I think it's a militarized CJ-2000.
So what is the WS-35 turbofan intended to power?
Guessing the An-124/C-5 class transport reportedly in development (Y-40?), but any potential applications besides that?
IF WS-35 do indeed turn out to be a military version of CJ-2000 with thrust in 350kN range, that would mean a transport with 4 engines could potentially reach up to 600t MTOW which is IMO closer to An-225 class than C-5/An-124 class. It potentially might be a slightly down scaled version of that study that was posted in the Transport thread.
But otherwise, the only other application I could think of would probably be a militarised version of C-929 for long endurance AWAC and tanker.
WS-35 imo could also be the new next generation ACE engine meant for J-36 and the Shenyang fighter
WS-35 is indeed a pleasant surprise.
this could be militarized version of CJ-2000 and max thrust will be 30+ tons. project definitely led by AECC Shenyang. they have very big plans thanks to record revenue.. WS-20 paved the way for future High bypass Engines.
just last year, Shenyang completed China's first open air bench test facility for ultra large high bypass turbofan engines. that facility support up to 45 tons category class engine.
AECC Shanghai - CJ-1000/CJ-2000
AECC Shenyang - WS-20/WS-35
Note - there is one more possibility but less chances, WS-35 might be next gen military low bypass turbofan engine... let see
WS-19 is EJ-200 class engine in terms of raw performance. No way it could power a flanker sized aircraft.