The Beijing-based China Aviation News reported on August 25, 2015 that the engine division of the Xi'an-based aeronautic and aerospace firm AVIC Qingan Group may be preparing to develop an aircraft with a higher speed than the US Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Quoting the Shanghai-based news web portal 'New Outlook', the report mentions a planned project which would see the development of China's first domestically-made turbofan-ramjet combined cycle engine, designed for an unnamed aircraft. New Outlook added that a source close to the PLA Air Force had said this is part of a project to develop a manned supersonic aircraft, currently in the preparation stages at a domestic research institute.