PLA AEW&C, SIGINT, EW and MPA thread

asif iqbal

Lieutenant General
3 x KJ500H for navy

85091-85083

Also for PLAAF x 3 units and around half dozen at production site

All in all so far 12 units probably split 50/50 for navy and Air Force
 

Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
Now that the pulse assembly line is in operation they produced this beauty by the dozens This is high priority items and urgently needed

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The satellite images show that the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation (SAC), a subsidiary of the Chinese aviation group AVIC and entity specializing in the production of medium transport aircraft and specific variants, has been in full swing for almost two years now. The KJ-500 AWACS , the new generation Y-8Q maritime patrol aircraft (also known as KQ-200), as well as the various electronic warfare versions, are coming out of the SAC factory chain to equip the air force and the Chinese navy.

Images from mid-May this year show that at least 13 aircraft of different models were stationed on the tarmac of SAC's flight test area, located 17 km northeast of Hanzhong City, among which there are four KJ-500 AWACS, four Y-8Q MPAs, and three or four Y-9 transport aircraft .

All except one KJ-500 are already painted in the livery of the Air Force, the Navy or the Chinese Army, which is to say that the aircraft were not far from the official delivery.

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Devices parked at the SAC site, May 17, 2017, before delivery to the Chinese army (Images: Digital Global, East Pendulum)

And another satellite image taken four months later, at the beginning of September, shows that at least two other new AWACS KJ-500s have come out of the final assembly line. Indeed, we clearly identify on the same zone three AWACS with their very characteristic dorsal radome, and all still wearing anti-corrosion yellow paint, whereas on the image of the month of May only one was in this state.

It is therefore likely that the rate of this Chinese AWACS - designed to maintain the same performance in terms of C4ISR as the old model KJ-2000 , but with a Y-9 platform completely under control of China unlike the IL- 76MD , which is becoming increasingly difficult to import - has been increased to one plane every two months, or shorter to one month and ten days.

The number of cameras on these images also indirectly confirms information published two days ago in a Chinese army newspaper, indicating that a "dozen planes" was delivered by SAC in 2017. We could Expect moreover to a more significant pace because pulse-line channels have just been operational in Shaanxi recently, if we believe an article in China Aviation News , a newspaper AVIC group, which mentions the roll-out of a first device resulting from the "pulsed" assembly.

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One of SAC's assembly lines

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The satellite images show that the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation (SAC), a subsidiary of the Chinese aviation group AVIC and entity specializing in the production of medium transport aircraft and specific variants, has been in full swing for almost two years now. The KJ-500 AWACS , the new generation Y-8Q maritime patrol aircraft (also known as KQ-200), as well as the various electronic warfare versions, are coming out of the SAC factory chain to equip the air force and the Chinese navy.

Images from mid-May this year show that at least 13 aircraft of different models were stationed on the tarmac of SAC's flight test area, located 17 km northeast of Hanzhong City, among which there are four KJ-500 AWACS, four Y-8Q MPAs, and three or four Y-9 transport aircraft .

All except one KJ-500 are already painted in the livery of the Air Force, the Navy or the Chinese Army, which is to say that the aircraft were not far from the official delivery.



And another satellite image taken four months later, at the beginning of September, shows that at least two other new AWACS KJ-500s have come out of the final assembly line. Indeed, we clearly identify on the same zone three AWACS with their very characteristic dorsal radome, and all still wearing anti-corrosion yellow paint, whereas on the image of the month of May only one was in this state.

It is therefore likely that the rate of this Chinese AWACS - designed to maintain the same performance in terms of C4ISR as the old model KJ-2000 , but with a Y-9 platform completely under control of China unlike the IL- 76MD , which is becoming increasingly difficult to import - has been increased to one device every two months, or shorter to one month and ten days.

The number of cameras on these images also indirectly confirms information published two days ago in a Chinese army newspaper, indicating that a "dozen planes" was delivered by SAC in 2017. We could Expect moreover to a more significant pace because pulse-line channels have just been operational in Shaanxi recently, if we believe an article in China Aviation News , a newspaper AVIC group, which mentions the roll-out of a first device resulting from the "pulsed" assembly
.

The new Chinese MPA Y-8Q / KQ-200

Through this AWACS program, we can once again see the country's constant quest for absolute independence in terms of Defense and national security, even if it means making concessions at a certain level.

In the case of the KJ-500, the Y-9 platform has a much shorter range and speed than the IL-76®, the usable volume inside the cab and the carrying capacity are also least, but the engineers of Chinese electronics and radar group CETC seem to have found solutions to overcome technical problems, and to bring a set of equipment in a smaller space on a smaller platform, including a new architecture related to a fully digital active scanning radar.

It should be noted that the Chinese army is starting to deploy its new AWACS all over the country, whether
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, in the East China Sea against the US and Japanese armed forces, or on the Hainan Island for the direction of the South China Sea.
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.
DQIOpeXUIAA4-ZD.jpg

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Les images satellites datant du 23 Octobre 2017 montrent que la marine chinoise a déployé trois nouveaux AWACS KJ-500 et deux avions de patrouille maritime ASW KQ-200 (Y-8Q) à la base aérienne de Lingshui, sur l'île de Haïnan, dans la direction de la mer de Chine méridionale.
 
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Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
(cont)
The third type of Chinese AWACS KJ-500 (Photo: 莲花 跑车)

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The new Chinese MPA Y-8Q / KQ-200

Through this AWACS program, we can once again see the country's constant quest for absolute independence in terms of Defense and national security, even if it means making concessions at a certain level.

In the case of the KJ-500, the Y-9 platform has a much shorter range and speed than the IL-76®, the usable volume inside the cab and the carrying capacity are also least, but the engineers of Chinese electronics and radar group CETC seem to have found solutions to overcome technical problems, and to bring a set of equipment in a smaller space on a smaller platform, including a new architecture related to a fully digital active scanning radar.

It should be noted that the Chinese army is starting to deploy its new AWACS all over the country, whether
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, in the East China Sea against the US and Japanese armed forces, or on the Hainan Island for the direction of the South China Sea.
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
.

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Les images satellites datant du 23 Octobre 2017 montrent que la marine chinoise a déployé trois nouveaux AWACS KJ-500 et deux avions de patrouille maritime ASW KQ-200 (Y-8Q) à la base aérienne de Lingshui, sur l'île de Haïnan, dans la direction de la mer de Chine méridionale.

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To be continued.
 
Last edited:

Totoro

Major
VIP Professional
maybe there won't be a need to use y20 for awacs role. the trend seems to be to use smaller planes for aew platforms, compared to ones from 30+ years ago. i guess technology outran the creeping requirements in this regard so a smaller package plane can perform just as well.
 

jobjed

Captain
maybe there won't be a need to use y20 for awacs role. the trend seems to be to use smaller planes for aew platforms, compared to ones from 30+ years ago. i guess technology outran the creeping requirements in this regard so a smaller package plane can perform just as well.

Larger planes carry larger radars which means longer range and more command terminals aboard the aircraft. Of course, if one lacks appropriate aircraft, one has to make do with smaller ones with smaller radars and fewer command terminals, as the PLA is doing with the KJ-500s. Now that Y-20 production is in full swing, I expect the PLA to procure large AEW&C aircraft when immediate requirements for strategic airlifters have been satisfied.

I don't believe we saw the KJ-500's advent until a few years after the first vanilla Y-9 rolled off the assembly line. There's no reason to expect the PLA to rush into a Y-20-based AEW&C so soon after the commencement of production.
 
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