superdog
Junior Member
It does have a radome that can be lowered and provide 360 coverage, just not as powerful as a bigger fixed wing AEW aircraft, that's all.
CV-16 Liaoning (001 carrier) Thread II ...News, Views and operations
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
- Status
Can they relay information from one Z-18 to another in order to extend the range of the AEW helo range? You know have two Z-18s aloft at a time. One would be at a distant range the other would be at a shorter range. Of course the one further out would be relaying info to the helo closer to CV-16.
Hendrik_2000
Lieutenant General
Well the Z-18J has data link with Liaoning so they should be able to extend the range of Liaoning surveillance perimeter. They do have SATCOM according to Huitong Additional communication and navigation antennas are installed underneath the fuselage. A SATCOM antenna was installed on top of the tail boom. Both the rotor
Liaoning itself has a radar I believe the range is 450 Km or mile not sure
Z18 J range is 700-800Km and the radar itself has 200 km range at 2000 m height
So they should be able to extend the surveillance to at least 1000Km with 3 or 4 helicopter
I am no expert in this data link. Any expert out there
Here is the US equivalent
Navy chooses AN/SRQ-4 ship-to-helicopter datalink radios from L3 for situational awareness
June 26, 2013
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 26 June 2013. U.S. Navy helicopter avionics experts needed a digital data link to enable helicopters to share sensor information in real time with Navy and Coast Guard surface ships. They found their solution from L3 Communications-West in Salt Lake City.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced a $6.7 million contract modification Tuesday to L3 to provide four Hawklink AN/SRQ-4 radio terminal sets for the Navy and one for the U.S. Coast Guard.
The AN/SRQ-4 is the shipboard element of a system that links the MH-60R helicopter with surface warships in the area. It provides command and control (C2), sensor data transfer, data link operation, and built-in-test.
The system provides real-time use of aircraft sensors to extend situational awareness over the horizon by enabling surveillance helicopters to data-link radar, video, networking, and acoustic data to Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Ticonderoga-class cruisers, and Perry-class frigates. Its control systems run on modern open-systems architectures, L3 officials say.
The AN/SRQ-4 supports anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-ship surveillance and targeting (ASST) missions; receives and distributes full-motion video; is IP-enabled and built to work with future network-centric applications; is compatible with the SAU7000 digital messaging interface; and has ruggedized construction and modules that are qualified to Navy shock and environmental standards.
Related stories
--
--
-- .
The AN/SRQ-4 also has expanded CDL frequency range to support MH-60R helicopter operations; makes the most of link performance by auto-switching between open-loop pointing and closed-loop tracking, depending on the range between the helicopter and the ship; has a range of 100 nautical miles to the AN/ARQ-50 airborne terminal; and has built-in test.
The system is interoperable with the CDL family of airborne terminals not only on the MH-60R, but also for the Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the P-3 Orion surveillance turboprop aircraft, and the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol jet.
It has a touch-screen graphic user interface for control and status; and has a growth path to dual-link operation, L3 officials say. The system is interoperable with the Navy SQQ-89 anti-submarine warfare system and shipboard Navigation Sensor System Interfaces (NAVSSI). It is software-configurable for Common Data Link (CDL) waveforms.
Last edited:
kwaigonegin
Colonel
That's a great question and I believe the answer is probably no. They can surely 'relay' information to each other like any other aew aircrafts however as far as two or more helos having fully automated intranetworking capabilities and full spectrum battlespace control management and hopping between each other I do not believe so. Basically you cannot daisy chain a bunch of Z18s together and extend Liaoning's total battlefield management indefinitely.
That would be nice wouldn't it? LOL
As of now I'm 99% sure the Z-18s are use primarily in relaying the gathered info back to CV16 and also do limited battlespace management itself.
If I'm reading you right you're thinking maybe a helo acting as a 'mothership' and the rest like nodes.
US/Allied E2Ds uses the updated Link 16 waveform or CMN-4 with MIDS JTRS that allows full networksharing capabilities not only with each other but JSTARS, AWACS etc as well. I believe they also experimented with Talon HATE (or similar) for encryption with stealth aircraft and will most definitely use it when the F35s hit the fleet.
The Z-18s will most definitely not have something like the CEC which also allows fire control capabilities and missile guidance to target.
Like you said I think the Z18s are only temporary and localized in battlespace management. It works for now because Liaoning doesn;t venture too far out but if or when PLAN CSGs goes consistently beyond the 2nd island chain and to Africa, Med etc they most definitely need a true AEW platform like the E2Ds.
The Z18s just ain't gonna work very well in the middle of the pacific ocean or other vast seas.
Thanks for that answer kwaigonegin. I do have somewhat limited knowledge of what an E-2 can do. Believe me your AEW aircrfat is the most important war-fighting gear aboard a carrier. ..they don't call an E-2 Hawkeye "The Eyes of the Fleet" for nothing.
If I was the admiral in charge of the PLAN carrier battle group development a viable and efficient AEW aircraft would be my #1 priority to place into service. Most important.
kwaigonegin
Colonel
darn right right shipmate! The hummers always 1st to leave, last to come back.
I would say the lack of advanced navalized AEW platform is as critical to PLAN as their ASW capabilities. Once they get those 2 things right, then they will be a very formidable navy.
You cannot fight and win battles if you eyes and ears can't see and hear as well as the other guy. It's really that simple.
Just catching up on all the news over the holidays.
Is it confirmed that the replenishment ship and the 056 didn't go past the first island chain?
Has the sub type been identified?
PikeCowboy
Junior Member
from today's <Focus Today>
The carrier should have a good number of helos. ASW, SAR, and for the Chineses AEW.
This would mean probably:
6 x ASW, 4 x AEW, and at least 4 x SAR. I would epect under normal coperating conditions for them to have 12-14 helos n addition to 24 aircraft.
One day we will see this.
- Status