Quest for Independence: China to Make Its Own Jet Engines

The Christian Science Monitor (U.S.)

29 August 2016

China already has a giant radio telescope, a new Mars rover, and the fastest supercomputer in the world. And soon, it plans to make its own jet engines.

On Sunday, Chinese officials merged existing engine manufacturers to establish the Aero-Engine Group of China (AECC). The state-owned company will design engines for military and commercial aircraft.

The firm’s formation has been called a “strategic move,” as China continues to decrease its reliance on imported technologies. But making a concerted effort to build jet engines doesn’t necessarily mean that China will succeed in building engines as good as the ones the country is importing from the United States and Europe.

… ‘Chinese engine-makers face a multitude of problems,’ said Michael Raska, assistant professor in the Military Transformations Programme at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Among the issues, China’s J-20 and J-31 stealth fighters cannot super-cruise, or fly at supersonic speeds like their closest rivals, Lockheed Martin’s F-22 and F-35 stealth planes, without using after-burners, said two industry sources who follow Beijing’s military programs closely.After-burners remove a warplane’s stealthiness, a capability that allows them to escape radar detection.

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Last updated on 30/08/2016