Saturn AL-31
| AL-31 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Saturn AL-31 FN turbofan engine | |
| Type | Turbofan |
| National origin | USSR |
| Manufacturer | NPO Saturn |
| Major applications |
Sukhoi Su-30MKI Sukhoi Su-27 Chengdu J-10 Shenyang J-11 |
The Saturn AL-31 is a family of military turbofan engines. It was developed by Lyulka, now NPO Saturn, of Soviet Union, originally for the Sukhoi Su-27 air superiority fighter. It produces a thrust of 123 kN (27,600 lb) with afterburning in the AL-31F, 137 kN (30,800 lb) in the AL-31FM (AL-35F) and 145 kN (32,000 lb) in the AL-37FU variants. Currently it powers all Su-27 derivatives and the Chengdu J-10 multirole jet fighter which has been developed by China.
AL-31F
AL-31FP
AL-31FN
AL-31FM1
AL-41F1S
The AL-31FP and AL-37FU variants have thrust vectoring. The former is used in the Su-30MKI export version of the Su-30 for India & Sukhoi Su-30MKM for Malaysia . The AL-31FP can deflect its nozzle to a maximum of ±15° at a rate of 30°/sec. The vectoring nozzle is utilized primarily in the pitch plane. The AL-31FP is built in India by HAL at the Koraput facility under a deep technology transfer agreement.
It can tolerate severely distorted air flow from the intake. In the twin-engined Su-27, left and right engines are interchangeable. The Mean Time Between Overhaul (MTBO) for the AL-31F is 1000 hours with a full-life of 3000 hours. Some reports suggested that Russia was offering AL-31F to Iran to re-engine its F-14 Tomcat air fleet in the late 1990s.
According to Saturn`s Victor Mihailovic Chepkin, chief designer of the 117 and 117S engines, the Chinese WS-10 was developed with the aid of the AL-31`s maintenance technical documentation., this was recently confirmed by AVIC China can domestically produce most AL-31 parts for its own jet engine programs, but still import turbine blades from Russia.
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Wikipedia