AWACS aircraft based on Chinese analogues An-12
The first Chinese full-fledged AWACS aircraft KJ-2000 based on the Soviet Il-76TD jet transporter had fairly high performance. In terms of detection range and the number of simultaneously tracked targets, the radar complex of the Chinese "heavenly eye" approximately corresponded to the characteristics of the RTK of the A-50 aircraft. However, even before the KJ-2000 was put into service and carried out regular patrol flights, it was clear that this very expensive machine would also be very expensive to operate and maintain. In this regard, back in the mid-1990s, the PLA command initiated the development of an airborne radar picket based on the much cheaper Y-8 medium military transport aircraft (Chinese version of the An-12), with four economical turboprop engines. The first flight of the AWACS turboprop prototype, which later received the designation KJ-200, took place on November 8, 2001.
DRLO KJ-200 aircraft
As in the case of the “strategic” AWACS aircraft KJ-2000, when creating the “tactical” airborne radar picket KJ-200, Chinese designers decided to use a radar with a fixed antenna with AFAR. However, instead of a round dish-shaped radome, inside which there are three fixed antenna modules with a field of view of 120 ° each, the KJ-200 aircraft uses an elongated antenna in a canoe-shaped radome.
KJ-200 prototype
The radar radome, which received the unofficial nickname "rocker", is shaped like the Swedish Ericsson PS-890 radar, but much larger. In front of the radar fairing there is an air intake for cooling active transceiver modules with an oncoming air flow. Since the viewing angle of the radar on each side is 150°, there are "dead" areas that cannot be viewed in the nose and tail parts of the aircraft. This makes it necessary to conduct patrols in pairs or constantly fly in an oval or figure eight. But during these maneuvers, there is a possibility that target tracking will be lost. At the same time, experts note that, compared with the Saab 340 and Saab 2000 platforms with similar types of radars, the Y-8 airframe provides large areas for the installation of electronic equipment, operator consoles and staff rest areas.
It is known that the KJ-200 radar is capable of detecting high-altitude targets at a distance of 350-400 km. The target detection range against the background of the earth is significantly less. Information about the air situation is transmitted to consumers via a radio channel. At the first stage, it was not possible to drop radar information in real time at the command posts of ground air defense forces and fighter-interceptor guidance points.
RTK operators on the KJ-200 aircraft
It is believed that the operators of the KJ-200 radar complex could simultaneously direct 12-15 interceptors.
During the tests of the first prototype of the KJ-200, there were no particular difficulties, and in January 2005, the second prototype took off, based on the upgraded military transport Y-8F-600. The second experimental machine was actually pre-production, had new, more economical Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150B engines with 6-blade propellers and a “glass” cockpit with avionics from Honeywell. However, on June 3, 2006, this aircraft crashed due to icing on the wing, crashing into a mountain near the village of Yao in Anhui Province. Among the dead were high-ranking military and designers.
This incident seriously delayed the adoption of the KJ-200 into service. It was officially announced that the prerequisites for the disaster arose as a result of errors in the design of the aircraft. To eliminate the shortcomings, it was necessary to urgently involve specialists from the Ukrainian Antonov Design Bureau. During the revision, changes were made to the design of the wing and tail.
According to open data, the KJ-200 AWACS aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 61 kg. The maximum speed is 000 km / h, the ceiling is 660 meters. Crew - 10 people, 400 of them are engaged in maintenance of the radio engineering complex. Thanks to a fuel reserve of 10 tons and economical turboprop engines, the KJ-6 is able to stay in the air for 25 hours more than the KJ-200 based on the Il-2TD.
The "tactical" AWACS aircraft KJ-200 was officially put into service in 2009, in total, taking into account the prototypes, 11 copies were built. Currently, there are six aircraft in the PLA Air Force and three aircraft are operated by the naval aviation. These aircraft primarily patrol the northeast coast of China, and they often fly over the disputed islands.
Aircraft of the PLA Navy KJ-200 are permanently stationed at the Layang airbase in Shandong and Lingshui on the island of Hainan.
Satellite image of Google Earth: KJ-200 and Y-8J aircraft at Layan airbase
In February 2017, the pilots of the American P-3С Orion announced a dangerous approach to the KJ-200 over the South China Sea.
DRLO KJ-500 aircraft
A few years after the adoption of the KJ-200 AWACS aircraft, the Chinese military managed to appreciate all the advantages and features of this machine. The experience gained by the developers and the flight crew of the combat units made it possible to form an understanding of what a modern aircraft of the radar patrol and control of the “tactical link” should be like, and to start creating more advanced machines of this class. According to the views of the PLA command, an AWACS aircraft operating for a long time at a considerable distance from its base should have an all-round radar, an in-flight refueling system and a wide range of electronic intelligence and jamming equipment.
DRLO KJ-500 aircraft
The aircraft designed for these requirements was the KJ-500, information about which appeared in March 2014. The KJ-500 AWACS aircraft, like the KJ-2000 and KJ-200, initially entered service with the 76th AWACS Regiment of the 26th Special Forces Division of the PLA Air Force stationed at Wuxi Air Base. After the development of the Chinese air force, the KJ-500 began to be transferred to naval aviation.
Satellite image of Google Earth: AWACS aircraft KJ-500 at Wuxi airbase
The KJ-500 aircraft was built on the basis of the Y-9 transport aircraft (an extended version of the Y-8 with new engines and avionics). Unlike the KJ-200 with a "log-like" radar, the new aircraft has a round fixed radar antenna on the dorsal pylon. In addition to the round radar dish, the distinguishing features of the KJ-500 are the presence of an aerodynamic ridge in the tail section to compensate for the loss of road stability and flat antennas of the electronic intelligence station. On the fixed fairing of the radar of the Chinese AWACS aircraft, the viewing sectors of the AFAR emitters are indicated on top and there is a characteristic “blister” of the satellite communications antenna.
Chinese sources say that the great success of CETC's specialists is the transition from radar with mechanically scanned antennas to systems with active phased array antennas. In China, it was possible to create and put into serial production a three-coordinate early warning radar with AFAR, which provides electronic scanning in height and azimuth. At the same time, the viewing sector of each of the three flat antenna arrays, docked in the form of an isosceles triangle, is at least 140°. Thus, they mutually overlap neighboring sectors and provide an all-round view. Judging by the available photographs, in the rear of the fuselage of the KJ-500 there are flat antennas of electronic intelligence stations, which significantly expands the scope of the aircraft.
The exact characteristics of the KJ-500 aircraft are not known. Its takeoff weight is estimated at 62 tons. Maximum flight speed is 660 km/h, cruising speed is 550 km/h, service ceiling is 10 m, maximum flight duration is 400 hours, and maximum ferry range is 10,5 km. American experts write that the KJ-5600 radar is close in its capabilities to the radar of the American carrier-based Grumman E-500D Hawkeye AWACS aircraft.
Serial construction of base machines for the KJ-500 is carried out at the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation (a subsidiary of the state holding AVIC) in the city of Hanzhong.
Satellite image of Google Earth: aircraft at the site of the finished product of the aircraft factory in the city of Hanzhong
Aircraft prepared for the installation of equipment are transported to an aircraft factory in Xi'an, where the equipment is installed and put into working condition. After that, new machines are transferred to the customer.
Satellite image of Google Earth: aircraft at the factory airfield of Xi'an Aircraft Company in Xi'an
The handbooks say that by 2021, more than 17 KJ-500 aircraft had been built. But based on satellite images, it can be argued that there are many more such aircraft. When collecting material for this publication, I was able to count about three dozen KJ-500s.
In addition to the coast, these machines are permanently deployed in remote and hard-to-reach areas of the PRC, thus compensating for the lack of stationary ground-based radar posts.
Google Earth satellite image: KJ-500 AWACS aircraft and J-11 fighters at Lhasa airbase
For example, KJ-500 aircraft were seen at the Lhasa and Shigatse airbases in the Tibet Autonomous Region, as well as at Golmud in the Haixi-Mongol-Tibet Autonomous Region. In addition to AWACS aircraft, these air bases also host J-10 and J-11 fighters.
Satellite image of Google Earth: AWACS aircraft KJ-500 and Y-8 at Golmud airbase
In terms of the number of AWACS aircraft in service, China is already several times larger than Russia. At the same time, in the PRC, along with the creation of heavy and expensive aviation radio systems based on the Il-76TD and Y-20, emphasis is placed on the construction of relatively economical "medium" air radar posts. Aircraft KJ-200 and KJ-500, designed for the "tactical" link, if necessary, are capable of performing "strategic" tasks. Losing in terms of flight speed, the number of targets tracked and fighters being guided, turboprops with the same flight range as the KJ-2000 can hang in the air longer. And the lower performance of the RTK is fully compensated by the large number of "tactical" AWACS aircraft available in the Air Force and naval aviation of the PLA.
Export aircraft AWACS ZDK-03
After it became known about India's intention to purchase AWACS A-50EI aircraft, Pakistan ordered aircraft of a similar purpose from China. By order of the Pakistan Air Force, at the end of 2005, a prototype of the Y-8P AWACS aircraft with a rotating disk-shaped radar antenna was created on the Y-200-8 platform in China. According to information published in the Chinese media, the Pakistani military insisted on choosing such a scheme, since, in their opinion, the placement of the antenna system in a "classic" rotating fairing above the fuselage is more consistent with the requirements of the Pakistan Air Force.
Experienced aircraft ARLO Y-8P
English-language sources write that the characteristics of the radar roughly correspond to the capabilities of the E-2C Hawkeye with the AN / APS-145 radar. In addition to radar and communications equipment, the radio engineering complex includes radio intelligence and electronic warfare stations. Their antennas are located in the nose and tail of the aircraft. Radio engineering complex ZDK-03 is served by 6 operators.
For the construction of serial AWACS aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force, the upgraded Y-8F-600 was used. In total, four vehicles were ordered, which received the atypical designation for the PLA Air Force ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle.
Aircraft AWACS ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle
Thus, the developer company Electronics Technology Group Corporation reflected in the name that this is the third AWACS aircraft after the KJ-2000 and KJ-200, and the letters “ZDK” are an acronym in Chinese that sounds like “Zhong Dayan Ke”.
The cost of one ZDK-03 in 2009 was $ 279 million. The first aircraft of this type was solemnly handed over to the Pakistan Air Force on November 13, 2010, after which intensive tests began with the Pakistani crew. On a permanent basis, AWACS ZDK-03 aircraft in Pakistan are located at the Masrur airbase, near Karachi.
Satellite image of Google Earth: Pakistani ZDK-03 AWACS aircraft at Masrur airbase
It is significant that the transfer of the fourth ZDK-03 aircraft to the Pakistani Air Force took place simultaneously with the start of factory testing of the new Chinese aircraft DROL KJ-500.
Satellite image of Google Earth: Pakistani ZDK-03 AWACS aircraft, as well as Chinese KJ-2000 and KJ-500 aircraft at the parking lot of the Xi'an Aircraft Company factory airfield in Xi'an
Subsequently, ZDK-03 regularly underwent repairs and maintenance at the Xi'an Aircraft Company in Xi'an. Judging by publicly available satellite imagery, Pakistani AWACS aircraft served on a rotational basis.
Satellite image of Google Earth: Pakistani ZDK-03 AWACS aircraft in the parking lot of the Xi'an Aircraft Company factory airfield in the city of Xi'an. The picture was taken in October 2018
At the same time, three of the four ZDK-03s were combat-ready, and one carried out prophylaxis in Xi'an. This approach allows you to perform the necessary service in a timely manner and makes the operation process predictable.
Radar reconnaissance aircraft of the earth and water surface Y-8G
In addition to creating aircraft designed for long-range radar detection of air targets, directing the actions of its aviation and issuing target designation to anti-aircraft missile systems, China was well aware of the importance of long-range radar reconnaissance of ground and surface targets.
At the end of 2004, pictures of the new Y-8G radar and electronic intelligence aircraft, created on the basis of the airframe of the upgraded Y-8F-400 transport aircraft, appeared.
Radar reconnaissance aircraft Y-8G
According to information released by US intelligence services, four Y-8G aircraft have been built, which are permanently based at Laiyang airfields in Shandong province and Jiaxing in Zhejiang province.
Google Earth Satellite Image: Y-8G Aircraft at Jiaxing Air Base
The Y-8G aircraft is easily distinguished from other machines based on the Chinese versions of the An-12 by the convex antennas protruding from the sides between the cockpit and wings. In order to mount them, I had to redo the front of the aircraft.
According to a number of Western experts, antennas resembling "hamster cheeks" are designed for radar scanning of water and land space at a great distance. In 2016, representatives of the Chinese Research Institute No. 14, which was responsible for the development of the radio engineering complex, stated that the aircraft could be used for long-range observation of the battlefield. In addition, the Y-8G carries powerful electronic warfare stations. Antennas are installed at the top of the keel and in the tail section of the aircraft. Unlike earlier models of radar reconnaissance aircraft, created on the basis of the transport Y-8, there are no windows in the fuselage of the Y-8G.
To be continued ...
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The first serial Chinese AWACS aircraft
Information