Are those engines WS-10?
Are those engines WS-10?
Nice, China can now be fully independent of Russian jet engines.No idea, but at least a WS-10 prototype is pretty much confirmed. The chances of the J-15B entering production with WS-10s just shot up by a bit.
Final comparison image:
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Potential jackpot.
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Definitely looks shorter than AL-31s. WS-10 equipped J-15B confirmed?
AL-31s:
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Sure. How about "likely?"I would say NOT CONFIRMED.
They look a bit shorter than Al-31s, but the quality of the image is insufficient to make that declaration yet. We've had past images as well of Al-31s on other aircraft that looked like they had shorter nozzles but in picture quality that was otherwise poor which then was followed up as being Al-31 rather than WS-10.
Having a high standard for clearance to confirm engine identity (especially for a likely in production aircraft) should be normal.
Sure. How about "likely?"
I do want to see examples of how you can make the AL-31 look almost 1/2 shorter though. It's pretty clear side-by-side here that one is definitely much shorter than the other.
Wait, I've got a new angle.I think "possible" is a better word.
We've been burned too many times with calling an engine's identity too early in the past.
There's a rumor making rounds on Weibo claiming that the prototype airframe for the 13th batch of J-16s is "entirely green" with a tentative nickname of "J-16A." A J-15 airframe which is also entirely green was spotted also.
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P.S. just in case anyone isn't aware, green parts of an airframe allegedly signify that the particular part is made from composites. Anyone want to guess the empty weight of these new Flankers (/jk)?
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