China is planning to develop its first domestically made turbofan ramjet engine, stoking wide speculation among Chinese media that a domestically made aircraft faster than the U.S.’s legendary Lockheed “Blackbird” spy plane may soon be on the horizon.
The engine, which is being developed by Xi'an-based aeronautic and aerospace firm AVIC Qingan Group, resembles the Pratt & Whitney variable cycle engine used by the SR-71 Blackbird that allows for increased thrust at high speeds, the Beijing-based China Aviation News said in a report on Tuesday.
Citing an anonymous source from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force, the engine is part of a project to develop a manned supersonic aircraft that is currently in the preparatory stages at an unnamed domestic research institute, according to the Shanghai news portal New Outlook.
The aircraft is expected to have a top speed faster than the Blackbird upon completion, the source said, although noting the project has yet to be formally launched.
The China Aviation News report said that in the first half of 2015, the engine division of the AVIC Qingan Group completed the designs for three engines and gained approval for them in May and July. The report went on to list descriptions of the three engines as the turbofan ramjet engine designed for an unnamed aircraft and improved versions of the WS-10 and WS-18 turbofan engines, which are previously known to the public.
The turbofan ramjet combined cycle engine, however, has never been made public. There is currently no precedent for the project and China has yet to develop suitable tools and heat-resistant materials for it, and therefore will have to contract foreign suppliers or build them from scratch, the report said.
A type of variable cycle engine, the turbofan-ramjet combined cycle engine has a distinctive circular air passage and a ramjet combustor at the rear. When the aircraft reaches speeds above 1.5 times the speed of sound, hydraulic valves redirect the air directly onto the ramjet for increased power and efficiency. The Blackbird, recognized as the fastest jet aircraft developed to date, is powered by a similar J58 turbojet engine that enables it to reach speeds of 3.5 times the speed of sound.
According to the PLA Air Force source, the aircraft that will be fitted with the engine has been in experimental development for several years, with the aim of surpassing the SR-71 by reaching speeds of almost five times the speed of sound, which is the upper limit of a ramjet engine. The aircraft is said to be a large manned plane with a design similar to the "Project 301" hypersonic aircraft supposedly being developed by Russian military aircraft design firm Mikoyan.
The Chinese aircraft currently waiting to enter development is likely to be designed to fulfill the initial functions of the SR-71 Blackbird, including serving as a high-speed interceptor and as a dual reconnaissance aircraft, according to Want China Times.
On Monday, Jane's Defense Weekly reported that U.S. aerospace firm Lookheed Martin's Skunk Works program has already started development of a high-altitude long-range aircraft that will replace the Lockheed U-2S ultra-high altitude manned reconnaissance aircraft and the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance craft, with both manned and unmanned models in the works.
The planned speed has not been made public, although long-standing rumors suggest that it would be within the Mach 5-6 range, the report said.
The U.S. has traditionally been the leader in high altitude, high speed reconnaissance aircraft, but if China is successful in their potential development project, it could make up for the shortcomings in this area, it added.
Currently, only the U.S. and Russia have successfully produced aircraft with speeds over three times the speed of sound, with the most well-known models being the SR-71 and Russia's MiG-25 "Foxbat" interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft.