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SINGAPORE<\/span> \u2013 The year 2025 was supposed to be a big one for Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac.<\/p>\n With more than 1,000 of its C919 passenger planes on order, the state-backed jet maker had pledged to ramp up production of the home-grown jetliner \u2013 Beijing\u2019s answer to the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max.<\/p>\n Executives said in March 2025 that Comac would deliver up to 75 planes by the end of the year, up from an initial target of 50.<\/p>\n However, by September 2025, the annual delivery target was slashed to 25, and Comac ended the year well short \u2013 shipping only 13 C919 jets, according to a Dec 24 Bloomberg report.<\/p>\n The shortfall laid bare a central vulnerability in China\u2019s commercial aviation ambitions: its reliance on Western-made aircraft engines.<\/p>\n An unsteady flow of aircraft parts, including engines that were subject to a two-month export ban earlier in the year, was cited as a reason for Comac\u2019s faltering output, underscoring how exposed the programme remains to overseas suppliers.<\/p>\n It is also why China has, since 2016, been racing to develop its own domestic commercial jet engine to free itself of Western dependence and assert greater aerospace sovereignty. <\/p>\n While public updates have been scant, the CJ-1000A aircraft engine, developed by state-owned aerospace company Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC), is said to be on the cusp of completing airworthiness certification \u2013 the regulatory approval required before an engine can be used on commercial passenger flights \u2013 after more than two years of test flights.<\/p>\n Getting the nod from China\u2019s civil aviation authority would pave the way for the Chinese engine, which is named after the Yangtze river \u2013 Chang Jiang in Mandarin \u2013 to be installed on the C919 plane for commercial use.<\/p>\n The engine would replace the Leap-1Cs that power the C919s today, which are supplied by CFM International \u2013 a joint venture between US manufacturer GE Aerospace and France\u2019s Safran Aircraft Engines.<\/p>\n The most recent hint of the CJ-1000A\u2019s progress was given in August 2025 by Chinese Academy of Engineering member Zhang Yanzhong, a key figure in China\u2019s aerospace push.<\/p>\n \u201cThe current progress is very positive. As for when it will be installed on Chinese aircraft \u2013 just wait for the good news,\u201d he told state broadcaster CCTV.<\/p>\n Aviation analysts, however, cautioned that China remains far from achieving jet-engine self-sufficiency and loosening its reliance on Western suppliers.<\/p>\n Mr Mayur Patel, head of commercial and industry affairs for Asia-Pacific at aviation data consultancy OAG Aviation, told The Straits Times that domestic certification and initial deliveries for the CJ-1000A engine were more likely to happen in 2027 or 2028.<\/p>\n Mass production is expected around 2030, while international certification remains years away.<\/p>\n Mr Li Hanming, an independent expert on Chinese aviation, noted that the CJ-1000A has been used as a second engine on the Xi\u2019an Y-20 military transport plane as part of testing, and the results are said to have exceeded initial projections.<\/p>\n But integrating the CJ-1000A with the Comac C919 would be more complex, requiring a redesign of the aircraft\u2019s engine control system, the US-based analyst told ST. <\/p>\n \u201cThe way to a production-ready engine is still long, and I would not say that it has finished,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Mr Li said AECC has experience designing military jet engines, but the company still has to learn a lot on the commercial front.<\/p>\n He noted that military jet engines are used less often, maintained more frequently, burn more fuel, and can afford to fail; whereas commercial engines are expected to prioritise safety, require less maintenance and save fuel, among other requirements.<\/p>\n While the C919 jet plane, which made its domestic debut in 2023 and <\/p>\n international debut<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n in Singapore in 2024<\/p>\n <\/a>, has been grabbing headlines, the development of the CJ-1000A engine has been equally key and closely watched.<\/p>\n Domestic engine development was listed among China\u2019s strategic goals in the 14th Five-Year Plan \u2013 from 2021 to 2025 \u2013 and features in the \u201cMade in China 2025\u201d industrial master plan.<\/p>\n China\u2019s resolve to develop its own line of commercial aircraft engines has also been strengthened after past instances of Western export controls putting a stranglehold on its aviation ambitions.<\/p>\n In 2020, a decades-long project to develop a regional propeller plane, the Xi\u2019an MA700, was left in limbo after Canada refused to issue an export licence to engine supplier Pratt and Whitney amid deteriorating bilateral ties.<\/p>\n