Successfully Undergoes Trials, FL-64 Wind Tunnel Aids China's Hypersonic Weapon Development

Illustration of a Chinese missile. (Source: PLA via MissileThreat)

JAKARTA - China has successfully carried out a large calibration test of a one-meter hypersonic aerodynamic wind tunnel, ready to become a supporting device for testing the country's hypersonic weapons and equipment development project.

Called the FL-64, the wind tunnel built by the state-owned Aerodynamics Research Institute under the Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), recently passed an airflow distribution calibration test below the main Mach number, AVIC revealed in a statement published in WeChat account on Sundays.

"This development means that the wind tunnel has successfully passed the first phase of calibration, and is officially able to carry out tests for the development project," said AVIC, citing the Nov. 21 Global Times.

Development of the FL-64 took two years, and broke construction speed records compared to similar facilities, the statement said, noting the wind tunnel was large and complex, with construction challenging due to hypersonic requirements, including high temperature, pressure and speed levels.

"This wind tunnel is designed to simulate speeds from Mach 4 to 8 under a total temperature of 900 Kelvin (626.85 C) at a simulated flight altitude of 48,000 meters," explains AVIC, adding it can operate for more than 30 seconds, testing the aircraft's hypersonic capabilities. , including the separation and deployment of weapons from aircraft.

With a foothold to serve China's aerospace strategy, the FL-64 aims to solve pressing aerodynamic problems facing various aircraft, and it will become another important tool in supporting the development of hypersonic weapons and equipment, according to the statement.

Previously, the AVIC Aerodynamics Research Institute has built low-speed wind tunnels such as the FL-8, FL-9, FL-10 and FL-51. As well as high-speed wind tunnels such as the FL-2, FL-3, FL-60 and FL-62, which form the basis for China's aerodynamic research for the development of aircraft, missiles, spacecraft and rockets.

To note, in late 2013 the AVIC Aerodynamics Research Institute began building its first hypersonic wind tunnel, the FL-63, which has a caliber of between 0.3 and 0.5 meters and can operate from Mach 3 to 10.

Following the success of the FL-63, construction of the larger FL-64 began in late 2019 and completed its main calibration tests in September.

"Wind tunnels are very important in aircraft development, as they are more accurate and efficient than computer simulations and model experiments, Fu Qianshao, an expert on Chinese military aviation, told the Global Times.

Computer simulations are cheaper, but may not be accurate and model experiments conducted in the air can be too expensive, experts say.

Separately, China is also building a JF-22 hypervelocity wind tunnel that can simulate Mach 30 speeds at altitude. Construction is expected to be completed by 2022, and the facility will contribute to the country's hypersonic aircraft and aerospace programmes, CCTV reported in August.