Warplanes: September 22, 2003

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In a major technological breakthrough, Chinese engineers have managed to master the manufacturing techniques needed to make a Chinese copy of the Russian AL31F military jet engine. This engine is used in the Russian Su-27 family of warplanes, and the Chinese copy, WS10A is meant for Chinese J-10 fighter, which is still in development. China has long copied foreign technology, not always successfully. But in the last decade, China has poured much money into developing a jet engine manufacturing capability.