Chinese J-20 stealth fighters getting 2D thrust vectoring nozzle similar to F-22 Raptor

 

China exhibited a turbofan engine with a 2D thrust vectoring control nozzle at the ongoing Zhuhai Airshow 2022. A turbofan engine with a 2D thrust vectoring control nozzle provides enhanced maneuverability and stealth capability.

The Chinese engineers have reportedly been working on this technology to close the gap between the capability of its J-20 stealth fighter and the F-22 Raptor, which uses the thrust vector control nozzle.

The Taihang series of turbofan engines, which come in five variants, are on display at the airshow. Even though these Taihang engines have been around for a while, the engine with 2D thrust vectoring control technology caught visitors’ attention at the air show.

The manufacturer or Chinese officials did not directly name the Taihang engine that sported this state-of-the-art technology. According to the state-owned Aero Engine Corp of China, the Taihang engine has continued to receive technical upgrades that have improved its performance, reliability, safety, stealth capability, power extraction, environmental adaptability, endurance, and thrust vectoring.

Wei Dongxu, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times at the Air show that thrust vectoring can significantly increase the maneuverability of the fighter jet by providing thrust directly to the desired direction and using aerodynamics.

 “China’s development of a turbofan engine with a 2D thrust vectoring control nozzle means the engine has sufficient power to manage the loss of some thrust,”

Last year, a J-20 pilot Li Gang said in an interview that he would want the J-20 to be upgraded with 2D thrust vectoring nozzle engines.

Later, in January 2022, China announced that it would begin upgrading the engines of its fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighter jet with modern technology to match the capability of the American F-22 Raptors.

This is where the thrust vector nozzle comes into the picture.

2D Thrust Vector Nozzle Technology To Counter US Air Force.

According to a Pentagon study, Beijing has been actively modernizing its J-20 fighter jets. China was speculated to add a 2D thrust-vectoring nozzle and an F-22-like “super cruise” capability with domestic WS-15 engines to J-20s.

The Chinese Air Force  has long been trying to close the capability gap with the USAF Raptors. To that end, the WS-15 had been in the works for a long time to power the J-20 and J-31 fifth-generation stealth aircraft, but it was shelved due to a succession of failed tests and evaluations.

The test failures led to China reportedly settling with the homegrown WS-10C.

At the beginning of this year, there were reports that China was finally upgrading the WS-10C engine with thrust vector nozzle technology.

“Because verification of the two-dimensional thrust-vectoring nozzles, the technology used by the F-22, has been completed, the maneuverability and stealth capability of the J-20s will be upgraded,”.

This technology typically allows a jet to fly longer and conduct more elaborate combat missions without refueling as frequently as a conventional fighter jet. The F-22 Raptors that will now be stationed in Japan at the Kadena Air Base have this technology that the Chinese have been trying to master for two decades.