By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-31 22:01:27 | Updated at 2025-02-01 01:04:34
3 hours ago
China’s aerospace industry has made significant strides in the development of a superfast turbojet that can add heat in the global race for new-generation military aircraft.
Scientists at Taihang National Laboratory, a leading aerospace engine research institute in southwest China, have completed ground tests of an unnamed turbine engine with advanced artificial intelligence technology that enables it to operate efficiently and stably at speeds of up to Mach 4.
The engine meets the military’s requirement for “100 per cent supply chain localisation”, according to the project team led by researcher Ji Chunsheng in a peer-reviewed paper published on January 16 in the Chinese journal Propulsion Technology.
The laboratory, known for its innovative work on the Taihang series engines that power advanced fighter jets like the J-20, is at the forefront of China’s aerospace technology advancements.
This is the first official confirmation of the existence of China’s high-Mach military jet project.
The project aims to build a plane faster and more advanced than the legendary American SR-71 Blackbird. The Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft could reach speeds of Mach 3.2 but was retired in 1999 due to its high operating expenses.
