For reliability, sure, but that doesn't matter when: 1. lives are relatively cheap 2. there is an ejection seat 3. most flights will complete without a failu

For reliability, sure, but that doesn't matter when: 1. lives are relatively cheap 2. there is an ejection seat 3. most flights will complete without a failure You can fight a war even if every flight has a 1% chance of a random engine explosion. There were worse odds over Europe in World War II. GE decided to make passenger jet engines in China. There should be no doubt that the reliability (likely a function of the factory) will find its way back into fighter jet engines. Regarding performance, that ought to match the Russian engines that were cloned.