China to develop new engine for carrier-based stealth fighter jets.

Chinese designers and engineers teamed up to study, develop and test a new turbofan engine for the Chinese carrier-based stealth fighter jets, the Shenyang FC-31 fighters.

The Chinese Shenyang FC-31 stealth aircraft (Picture Source: Chinese Military Review)

"The engine could be related to China's medium-sized twin-engine stealth aircraft FC-31, which could become China's next-generation aircraft carrier-based fighter jet," Wei Dongxu, a military expert told Global Times.

The team from Gas Turbine Research Institute working on the project, under the state-owned Aero Engine Corporation of China, will receive a provincial award during China's Youth Day on May 4, according to a statement released by the government of Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, on its WeChat account on April 15.

It took the development team one year to design the engine. The prototype of the engine underwent testing in six months. The engine is one of several major aero engine projects of the country, the statement said.

"Advanced turbofan engines are difficult to develop, especially the manufacturing of fan blades, which must be built to resist very high temperatures and pressure," Wei added. Although, still according to Wei, the new engine must still undergo a considerable amount of testing under different situations, before it is confirmed reliable and therefore can enter mass production.