PLA AEW&C, SIGINT, EW and MPA thread

SpicySichuan

Senior Member
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Another shot

A very nice looking aircraft

It is being reported that the 4th unit which is still in China is under going additional installation of equipment to enable it to communicate with Link 16 units

My personal understanding is that the ZDK-03 will rely the information to a land based system which will then covert and rely to Western fighters like the F-16 and that it won't be a direct communication

I could however been mistaken let's wait and see

I hope PAF can purchase more rotodome AWACS from China now that more advanced KJ-500 units are operational with PLAAF

bf16ad9e3412c5a8c6a3af6845d504af_zps1b617af2.jpg
I think the ZDK-03 is designed to operate with JF-17, not NATO systems, since JF-17 will eventually replace all the old French fighter jets in service with PAF. The F-16s could only play axillary role in the future since there are not that many in the PAF service.
 

asif iqbal

Lieutenant General
No Erieye will be used for F16 and ZDK-03 for JF-17 however ZDK-03 would in future my understanding is would communicate with Western fighters via ground station

And as of now there is 49 operational JF-17 whereas there is 76 x F16 fighters, F16 C/D is still premier fighter of PAF

"
Tufail says an absence of news of the fourth aircraft being delivered may mean it is undergoing installation of Link 16 datalink equipment to enable it to communicate with all of the PAF's aircraft, particularly its F-16s, and not just the JF-17 Thunders.

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Deino

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Is it Y8GX-8 or Y-9 ELINT?

The Y-8 and Y-9 platforms are so visually similar that I have a hard time telling them apart. Are there some easy visual cues to differentiate?


I think it is safe to say that all the latest EW-versions are based on the Y-9 airframe (Cat III) and that they are in fact no longer Y-8s. However that was already the fact with the KJ-200 aka Y-8GX-5 or Y-8W. The GX-6 = Y-8Q ASW and now the GX-9 n(aka KJ-500) to GX-11 are following this trend.

Deino

PS: Uppsss ... just noted, that this version is - at least following Huitong - now the Y-9JB ELINT.
 

Blitzo

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I made a quick size comparison between P-8 and Y-9/Y-8Q on paint using known dimensions, for a more or less accurate perception of the size of the planes.

There's this picture, which, while somewhat old, gives accurate overall dimensions of Y-9:
UZQKnal.jpg]

And this, which also shows the silhouette of a P-3 inside the P-8:
vzrzVDY.jpg


And scaled together for wingspan, gives this, I think it gives rough impression of how Y-9 compares with both P-8 and P-3. Of course, the real Y-8Q will be significantly longer due to its sizeable MAD tailsting:
AWIdTNA.png
 

Blitzo

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Added with P-3 and Kawasaki P-1

P-1: 38m long, 35.4 wingspan
P-3: 36m long, 30m wingspan
Y-9: 36m long, 38m wingspan (Y-8Q likely to be ~43m long, given the MAD tailsting appears to be ~1/5 the length of a typical Y-9)
P-8: 39.5m long, 37.6m wingspan

gN0s0Qt.png
 
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