PLA next/6th generation fighter thread

sunnymaxi

Major
Registered Member
Kinda feel sad that WS-15 just appeared after two decade long wait and now we are already talking about it's replacement so soon... no time to relax for Chinese engineers huh.
WS-15 will be backbone of PLAAF in coming years and continue to serve until next generation engine appears. & that new engine will be exclusively for 6th generation fighter jet only..

China has luxury for having huge pool of talent. different teams working on different engine projects. China got the process of turbofan engine. now development cycle is much shorter than before.
 

Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
It would be a freking shame if PLA 6th gen are powered by ws10s even in the prototype stage. The WS10 is a close cousin of the AL31F which was designed and developed in the 1970s!

he is saying. it would be shame if PLAAF use WS-10 for sixth generation fighter jet even in prototype stages.

WS-10 has become the part of history. PLAAF already moving on next stage. by the time, 6th generation prototype introduce, WS-15 advance variant will be in full scale production.

Sunnymaxi, what Siege is talking about is the bolded part, which is to say regardless of what engine the 6th gen prototype uses, saying the WS-10 is a "close cousin of the Al-31F" is ridiculous in the year 2023, because everyone knows it is much closer in lineage to the CFM-56 (and thus the F101/F110 lineage).

It is frankly surprising that someone like kwaigonegin who has been on SDF for many years would think WS-10 has some sort of lineage with Al-31F.


... as for the topic at hand, I personally do not expect a WS-10 variant to power the 6th generation prototype, however one exception I could see is a highly advanced WS-10 derivative designed specifically for next generation purposes, which is actually something that GE looked into for the F110 (the actual close cousin of WS-10), with multiple proposed variants including high thrust and variable cycle variants.

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"Even though the F110 is one of the highest thrust fighter engines in operation, GE has developed plans for further performance increases, should our customers need them. We have defined three growth steps that could increase F110 thrust to more than 40,000 pounds (178 kilo- Newtons ). The first step would deliver a 15 to 20 percent thrust increase to about 33,000 to 35,000 pounds (156 kilo- Newtons ). Engine ratings will depend on customer requirements. As an alternative, this step could provide a 40 percent increase in engine parts life at current thrust levels. Development work is already underway, and the engine will be qualified in 1998. Hardware modifications would include the high efficiency three stage integrally bladed disk - or blisk - fan adapted from the F118 engine on the B-2 bomber. We would also apply an advanced augmentor design using air-cooled radial flameholder and spraybar assemblies adopted from the YF120 and F414 engines. This low cost derivative design will greatly extend flameholder life. Survivability features could be incorporated to reduce engine thermal and radar signatures.

Our second growth step would build on Step One to deliver performance in the 36 to 37 thousand pound thrust range (about 160 kilo- Newtons ). To accomplish this, we would employ the latest CFM56 high-efficiency core. Dual use of this advanced engine core will lead to lower development costs and improved reliability for both engine programs. We would also introduce a long-life combustor with a laser-drilled multi-hole cooling pattern ; an air-cooled low pressure turbine, and a dual channel FADEC. While increasing performance and reliability, we also expect to cut engine acquisition cost compared with today’s F110 engine. This will be done by using Quality Function Deployment and Design to Cost methods to select those technologies that satisfy critical customer requirements at the lowest life cycle cost. In the third growth step, we could provide 40 thousand pounds of thrust by simply scaling up the blisk fan. However, the increased fan diameter and higher airflow would demand a larger inlet and structural modifications to existing F110 applications. Variable cycle engine technology, as first employed on our YF120 for the Advanced Tactical Fighter program, may also be used on the F110. A variable cycle engine can provide thrust tailoring throughout the flight envelope and delivers greater flexibility than a fixed cycle turbofan of the same size."




Now, personally I expect they would probably be happy enough with WS-15 into the future such that they would use WS-15 or a WS-15 variant for a 6th gen/next gen prototype, but the WS-10 family does still have lots of potential and it really depends on if they have any interest in developing itfurther as a powerplant.
 

kwaigonegin

Colonel
Sunnymaxi, what Siege is talking about is the bolded part, which is to say regardless of what engine the 6th gen prototype uses, saying the WS-10 is a "close cousin of the Al-31F" is ridiculous in the year 2023, because everyone knows it is much closer in lineage to the CFM-56 (and thus the F101/F110 lineage).

It is frankly surprising that someone like kwaigonegin who has been on SDF for many years would think WS-10 has some sort of lineage with Al-31F.


... as for the topic at hand, I personally do not expect a WS-10 variant to power the 6th generation prototype, however one exception I could see is a highly advanced WS-10 derivative designed specifically for next generation purposes, which is actually something that GE looked into for the F110 (the actual close cousin of WS-10), with multiple proposed variants including high thrust and variable cycle variants.

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"Even though the F110 is one of the highest thrust fighter engines in operation, GE has developed plans for further performance increases, should our customers need them. We have defined three growth steps that could increase F110 thrust to more than 40,000 pounds (178 kilo- Newtons ). The first step would deliver a 15 to 20 percent thrust increase to about 33,000 to 35,000 pounds (156 kilo- Newtons ). Engine ratings will depend on customer requirements. As an alternative, this step could provide a 40 percent increase in engine parts life at current thrust levels. Development work is already underway, and the engine will be qualified in 1998. Hardware modifications would include the high efficiency three stage integrally bladed disk - or blisk - fan adapted from the F118 engine on the B-2 bomber. We would also apply an advanced augmentor design using air-cooled radial flameholder and spraybar assemblies adopted from the YF120 and F414 engines. This low cost derivative design will greatly extend flameholder life. Survivability features could be incorporated to reduce engine thermal and radar signatures.

Our second growth step would build on Step One to deliver performance in the 36 to 37 thousand pound thrust range (about 160 kilo- Newtons ). To accomplish this, we would employ the latest CFM56 high-efficiency core. Dual use of this advanced engine core will lead to lower development costs and improved reliability for both engine programs. We would also introduce a long-life combustor with a laser-drilled multi-hole cooling pattern ; an air-cooled low pressure turbine, and a dual channel FADEC. While increasing performance and reliability, we also expect to cut engine acquisition cost compared with today’s F110 engine. This will be done by using Quality Function Deployment and Design to Cost methods to select those technologies that satisfy critical customer requirements at the lowest life cycle cost. In the third growth step, we could provide 40 thousand pounds of thrust by simply scaling up the blisk fan. However, the increased fan diameter and higher airflow would demand a larger inlet and structural modifications to existing F110 applications. Variable cycle engine technology, as first employed on our YF120 for the Advanced Tactical Fighter program, may also be used on the F110. A variable cycle engine can provide thrust tailoring throughout the flight envelope and delivers greater flexibility than a fixed cycle turbofan of the same size."




Now, personally I expect they would probably be happy enough with WS-15 into the future such that they would use WS-15 or a WS-15 variant for a 6th gen/next gen prototype, but the WS-10 family does still have lots of potential and it really depends on if they have any interest in developing itfurther as a powerplant.
Common.. let's be honest. Saying the WS10 derived CFM 56 is no less complimentary than saying it's from Al-31F.
I was merely making a point that a WS10 powered 6th Gen fighter even if pre prod model or prototype is a damn shame and I stand by my assertion.
 

Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
Common.. let's be honest. Saying the WS10 derived CFM 56 is no less complimentary than saying it's from Al-31F.
I was merely making a point that a WS10 powered 6th Gen fighter even if pre prod model or prototype is a damn shame and I stand by my assertion.

I don't care about whether something is complimentary or not. I care about being accurate and not getting something so basic, so wrong.
You've spent many years on SDF, how you are able to make a mistake like that is beyond me.

As for the rest of what you wrote, I already conveyed my position on it.
 

kwaigonegin

Colonel
I don't care about whether something is complimentary or not. I care about being accurate and not getting something so basic, so wrong.
You've spent many years on SDF, how you are able to make a mistake like that is beyond me.

As for the rest of what you wrote, I already conveyed my position on it.
Ok whatever dude. My point was about ws10 but you choose to harp on the CFM-56 instead. Besides WS 10 does have some of it's DNA from alf31 so to say I'm 'so wrong' is quite disingenuous on your part.
 

Blitzo

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
Ok whatever dude. My point was about ws10 but you choose to harp on the CFM-56 instead. Besides WS 10 does have some of it's DNA from alf31 so to say I'm 'so wrong' is quite disingenuous on your part.

You are of course, free to do you, but the way this forum works is that people will notice major mistakes and correct them, and yes, describing WS-10 as being a "close cousin" to Al-31 while omitting its much more significant lineage to CFM-56 is notable and is the kind of mistake often seen with mainstream/western defense and aviation publications who have poor information about the PLA.

Given we are on this forum with the goal of being better at PLA watching, correction of some major mistakes like that is going to be prudently done when noticed.
 

Temstar

Brigadier
Registered Member
Besides Cute Orca Ayi was also implying something:
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He seems to be implying there was 13 years between first flight of J-10 and J-20, and this year has been 13 years since first flight of J-20 so maybe we should expect something, some people in the thread are guessing 6th gen:
1704989576602.png

It seems a bit suspicious that the two of them are implying this at the same time, but then again those two are close friends so who knows.
 
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