China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) may have one more of its units operating the J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth fighter equipped with domestically sourced engines. Last Friday (18), the Military Development Vanguard Air Group made its debut with the new fighter in the northeast of the country.
The publication The EurasianTimes, citing the Chinese state-owned Global Times, points out that the squadron is the second PLAAF unit to operate the stealth jet, which is allegedly equipped with WS-10C turbofan engines.
The Military Development Vanguard Air Group has its origins in the first combat aviation unit of the Chinese Communist Party and “made laurels in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53) and national air defense missions shooting down 92 hostile aircraft”, according to a PLAAF spokesman, quoted by the state vehicle.
According to China Central Television, the fighters were presented by the unit at an exhibition in northeast China, where J-16 and J-10 jets were also presented at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party at the site of the former headquarters of the former Northeast China Aviation College.
“My unit is now flying the most advanced domestically developed warplanes, and we will practice a lot to make the best of them, hone our confidence and determination to fight and win, and fulfill the expectations of the Party and the people.”, said Shi Yunjia, a J-20 pilot.
In April, Chinese state media claimed that in the future, the J-20 pWould like to receive WS-15 engines with movable nozzles, the so-called thrust vector. According to Global Times, the model, which is the third fifth-generation fighter to enter service in the world, uses Saturn AL-31 engines of Russian origin.
In 2018, China flew a J-10B with a WS-10C engine with thrust vectoring – or thrust vectoring as it is also called –, which demonstrates that the country already masters the manufacture of this type of equipment.
