China Tests 'Home Grown' Jet Engine It Was Accused Of Stealing Technology For

In a major leap forward for China's aviation industry, reports indicate that the Chinese J-20 stealth fighter has completed its maiden flight equipped with two newly developed WS-15B jet engines.

This marks a significant milestone in the ongoing progress in the design and development of the indigenous WS-15B turbofan engines.

According to some reports, it is believed that the test flight occurred on 28 June, originating from the main test airfield of Chengdu, located alongside the city's renowned production plant.

Earlier, reports emerged, hinting that the new WS-15B engines has entered mass production after the Chinese developed a breakthrough in the manufacturing technology of the jet engines.

Until now, the Chinese had been flying its J-20 using the under powered WS-10B jet engines, which itself is a copy of the Russian AL-31F engines.

It is believed that the Chinese may have stolen advanced aero-engine technologies from the United States engine-maker Pratt and Whitney.

In 2018, Xiaoqing Zheng, a Chinese-American citizen, was convicted by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2018 for his involvement in the theft of trade secrets related to turbine sealings.

These trade secrets are considered dual-use and has extensive application in the development of aero engines.

In a separate case, Xu Yanjun, identified as a Chinese intelligence officer, has been accused of orchestrating a scheme to target and obtain valuable information from experts employed in Western aerospace companies, as well.

The alleged objective of this operation was to facilitate knowledge transfer and enhance China's manufacturing processes in the aerospace domain.

This is coming at a time when, India and the US, signed an agreement to co-manufacture General Electric (GE) F-414 engines in India, in a state visit of PM Modi to the US.

The deal involved transfer of technologies (ToT) of over eighty percent, which included eleven critical aero-engine manufacturing technologies which, hitherto, the US has not even shared with its treaty allies like the UK, France and Australia.

These include special coating for erosion and corrosion, repair technology for turbines, compression disc and blades, coating and machining of single crystal turbine blades, machining and coating of hot end parts, complete tech transfer for blisk machining, machining of powder metallurgy, polymer matrix composite, laser drilling for combustion, and bottle boring of shafts.