The United Engine Corporation (part of Rostec State Corporation) is developing a unified engine for the Su-27, Su-30, Su-35 aircrafts. Work is carried out on the basis of the main parts and assemblies of the previous engines. In addition to the domestic market, the unified engine has “specific export prospects” in India and China, reports "Kommersant".
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“Today we are considering the possibility of creating a universal engine, which will use the main parts and assemblies of previous engines in order to obtain higher technical characteristics. But this kind of universal engine that can be installed on Su-27, Su-30, Su-35 aircraft does not require modifying the airframe,” Kommersant quoted Evgeny Semivelichenko, managing director of PJSC UEC‑Ufa Engine Industrial Association.
He noted that there was an order from the Ministry of Defence, and work is underway. According to Semivelichenko, it is quite burdensome for the customer to maintain a fleet with various modifications, series and executions of engines, and for the plant, in turn, unification would allow to ensure the conveyor line and reduce the production cost.
"There is a huge foreign market for the sale of such a unit; this upgrade will add thrust to them, especially to the carriers of the BrahMos heavy aircraft missile. The Chinese J-10 fighters and the promising J-20 complex, as well as the carrier-based J-15, in turn, are in dire need of increasing thrust, he continues. In general, the fleet of Indian and Chinese fighters that may need such a product already numbers up to 700 units and will grow," said Konstantin Makienko, Deputy Director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies,
The unified engine first of all solves internal problems, without even taking into account the improvement in performance, it provides a reduction in operating costs for the main customer in the person of the Ministry of Defence, which has a large fleet of Su-27 and Su-30 fighters. In the future, there may be a certain demand from China, which purchased the Su-27, Su-30, Su-35 aircraft, and if there are additional advantages in terms of flight characteristics, other foreign customers may also show interest in the engine.
