Chinese carrier-based aircraft AWACS and UAV radar reconnaissance
China in terms of military development fleet now overtakes all other countries, and aircraft carriers in the short term should become one of the foundations of the combat power of the PLA Navy.
The decision to build China's own aircraft carriers was made in the early 1990s. Due to the fact that there was no experience in designing and building such ships in China, at the first stage, decommissioned aircraft-carrying cruisers pr. 1143 "Kyiv" and pr. 1143.2 "Minsk" were purchased for study in Russia.
In April 1998, the unfinished aircraft-carrying cruiser Project 1143.6 Varyag was purchased from Ukraine for $20 million. According to the official Chinese version, this ship was planned to be turned into a floating entertainment center with a casino. However, after arriving on the Chinese shores, the cruiser was placed in the dry dock of a shipbuilding company in the city of Dalian. In early 2011, it became known that China had completed the completion and modernization of the ship, and in August sea trials had already begun.
On September 25, 2012, a ceremony was held in the port of Dalian to accept the first aircraft carrier into service with the Chinese Navy. The ship was named "Liaoning" - in honor of the province in northeast China, and tail number 16.
Having gained the necessary experience, Chinese shipbuilders continued building aircraft carriers. In April 2017, it was launched, and in December 2019, the second Chinese aircraft carrier, the Shandong, was put into operation. At present, the third aircraft carrier "Fujian" has been launched and is being tested. A fourth aircraft carrier is under construction.
The composition aviation groups of aircraft carriers, in addition to carrier-based fighters, electronic warfare aircraft, transport, search and rescue and anti-submarine helicopters, should include helicopters and radar patrol aircraft.
Deck helicopters of radar patrol Ka-31 and Z-18J
Apparently, the first specialized carrier-based radar patrol vehicle used by the PLA Navy was the Russian Ka-31. The contract for the construction of nine helicopters was signed a few years before the start of tests of the Liaoning aircraft carrier. The first Ka-31 was handed over to the customer in November 2010, the contract was completed in 2016.
To detect air and surface targets, the Ka-31 is equipped with a decimeter range radar. A rotating antenna 5,75 meters long is placed under the fuselage. In the idle position and during landing, the antenna folds up. So that the chassis does not interfere with the rotation of the antenna, it was finalized: the front supports are retracted into the fairings, and the rear, the main supports, received a mechanism that pulls them up. From the transport-combat Ka-29, the radar patrol helicopter also differs in larger fuel tanks and a powerful auxiliary power unit TA-8K, launched during the operation of the radar.
A helicopter with a maximum takeoff weight of 12 kg can reach speeds of up to 500 km/h. The maximum flight range is 255 km with a duration of 680 hours. Patrolling is possible at an altitude of up to 2,5 km. Crew - 3 people.
The E-801 Oko radio-technical complex, developed by NPO Vega, made it possible to detect air targets at a distance of 100–150 km and surface targets of the “missile boat” type at a distance of 250 km, while simultaneously tracking 20 targets. Ka-31 helicopters delivered to China received a new BKS-252 RTK, but its characteristics were not disclosed.
In 2009, it became known about the tests of the Chinese Z-18J AWACS helicopter with a radar antenna located in the area of the folding tail frame and lowered to the working position when the machine is in the air. According to reference data, as of 2022, 8-9 helicopters of this type could be in service.
Helicopter Z-18Y with folded radar antenna
The basis for the Chinese AWACS helicopter was the marine transport Z-18 with a folding tail boom and rotor blades. This machine, in turn, was created on the basis of the Z-8, which is a licensed copy of the French Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon helicopter.
The maximum takeoff weight of the Z-18Y helicopter is 13 kg. Maximum speed - 800 km / h. The flight range is about 336 km. Crew - 900 people. It is stated that the Chinese helicopter Z-4Y surpasses the Russian Ka-18 in its characteristics. At a distance of up to 31 km from the carrier ship, the duration of patrolling at an altitude of 100 m is 3 hours. The radio engineering complex is capable of detecting targets at high and medium altitudes at a distance of up to 000 km. Targets flying at low altitude are detected from a distance of 2,5 km.
In terms of flight range and duration, as well as the characteristics of the on-board radio-technical complex, AWACS helicopters are certainly inferior to aircraft of a similar purpose. But in any case, in terms of the timely detection of air targets, they are many times superior to the capabilities of shipborne radars. An important advantage of such helicopters is the possibility of being based not only on aircraft carriers, but also on relatively small ships with helipads.
Carrier-based AWACS aircraft KJ-600
Initially, it was planned to use radar patrol helicopters on the first two Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong. But on the third larger ship, the Fujian, it was decided to place specially designed carrier-based AWACS aircraft, which made it possible to significantly increase the detection range of air and sea targets, as well as better control the actions of the air wing.
As you know, in the USSR, in the creation of the Yak-44 carrier-based AWACS aircraft, they did not advance beyond the construction of the layout, and Chinese designers had to create such a machine on their own.
The first prototype, known as JZY-01, took off from the Xi'an factory airfield in Xi'an in 2011. This machine, created on the basis of the transport Y-7 (copy of the An-26), was intended to work out design solutions that were later planned to be used to create a carrier-based aircraft. A number of authors write that the aircraft did not carry a radio-technical complex, and the radar antenna was a dummy.
Experienced aircraft AWACS JZY-01
Contrary to rumors, the JZY-01 was not intended for testing on an aircraft carrier. Too large for a deck-based machine, it does not have a folding wing and is not equipped with a brake landing hook and reinforced landing gear. In addition, this very heavy aircraft, which does not have a high thrust-to-weight ratio, is not capable of taking off from the deck of an aircraft carrier without the help of a catapult or solid fuel boosters.
During the first test flights, it turned out that the bulky radar disk obscures the tail, and this negatively affects handling. After completion, the prototype received a spaced tail with washers on the tips.
In addition, to improve take-off and landing characteristics and improve fuel efficiency, the second prototype aircraft was equipped with WJ-6C engines with 6-bladed JL-4 propellers - similar to those used on the new Y-8-600 transport and KJ-200 AWACS aircraft and ZDK-03.
Google Earth satellite image: JZY-01 aircraft in storage at the XAS factory airfield in Xi'an
Active testing of the JZY-01 continued until 2015, after which the experimental aircraft was put into storage.
At the beginning of 2017, information appeared about the testing of a new carrier-based AWACS aircraft KJ-600. Judging by the photographs of this machine, its geometric dimensions are close to the dimensions of the American E-2 Hawkeye, and the folding wing allows it to be compactly placed in the internal compartments and lifted by elevators. On the forums, you can find amateurish statements that the KJ-600 is a converted Y-7. But for specialists it is quite obvious that the KJ-600 airframe was created anew, and not borrowed from the Y-7 transport aircraft. At the same time, new composite materials are actively used.
Folded wing layout of KJ-600
At the design stage, the following requirements were laid down: the length of the aircraft was about 18 m, the wing span was not more than 22 m (it should add up at least 25% of the wing length), the height along the upper plane of the radar radome was 6 m. The diameter of the radar antenna radome was not more than 7 m. With such dimensions, the maximum take-off weight of the aircraft should not exceed 35 tons. The maximum fuel supply is 6 tons. Crew: 5-6 people. The maximum flight speed is up to 700 km/h.
Most of the experts who wrote about this aircraft previously agreed that the radar radome is not made rotating, and inside it, as on the larger KJ-2000 and KJ-500 AWACS aircraft, there are three active phased antenna arrays providing all-round visibility. However, information has recently appeared in the Chinese media that the KJ-600 RTK includes an onboard KLC-7 radar with an active phased antenna array of two sets of phased antennas. The station operates in two ranges and performs both electronic and mechanical scanning of the airspace. Together, this makes it possible to simultaneously detect more than 100 air targets, including such as cruise anti-ship missiles.
When flying at an altitude of 11 m, the airborne radar with AFAR KLC-000 can detect air targets at a distance of up to 7 km. With a decrease to 550 m, the maximum detection range of an air target will decrease to 6 km, and when performing a reconnaissance and patrol flight at an altitude of 000 m, the detection range of an enemy aircraft is 300–1 km.
When patrolling at an altitude of 11 m, the KJ-000 aircraft is capable of performing patrol flights lasting 600–6 hours. During patrols at medium altitudes, the duration of stay in the air does not exceed six hours, and when flying at low and extremely low altitudes, the duration of the flight is 8-4 hours. Chinese admirals believe that it is most rational to plan the patrol route of the KJ-5 carrier-based aircraft in the form of a rectangle with a long side of 600 km and a short side of 300 km.
Google Earth satellite image: KJ-600 carrier-based AWACS aircraft at the finished product site of the Xi'an Aircraft Company airfield in Xi'an
It is known that the assembly of the KJ-600, like other Chinese AWACS aircraft, is carried out at the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation in Hanzhong. Refinement and factory testing of carrier-based AWACS aircraft are being carried out at the airfield of the Xi'an Aircraft Company in the city of Xi'an.
Satellite image of Google Earth: carrier-based AWACS aircraft KJ-600 in the parking lot of the airfield of Xi'an Aircraft Company in Xi'an
At the end of 2022, two KJ-600 aircraft were seen at different sites of the HAS factory airfield in the city of Xi'an. Taking into account the fact that the PLA Navy plans to have four aircraft carriers, the need for carrier-based AWACS aircraft is estimated at 10-12 units.
Radar reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles
At present, long-range coastal, sea and air-based anti-ship missile systems are being put into service with the PLA Navy. Successful use of heavy anti-ship missiles with a range of several hundred kilometers and ballistic anti-ship missiles with a range of more than 1 km requires reliable means of reconnaissance and target designation. For this, it is planned to use over-the-horizon radars, reconnaissance spacecraft, long-range reconnaissance aircraft and Drones.
The main advantages of heavy UAVs are their ability to conduct long-term patrols at a considerable distance from the coast and, using satellite communication channels, transmit the received information in real time. At the same time, there is no risk of losing the crew, and the costs are significantly lower than when using manned reconnaissance aircraft.
In 2008, Chengdu began testing the WZ-7 Xianlong ("Soaring Dragon") heavy reconnaissance UAV, built by the Chinese company Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC).
UAV WZ-7 Xianlong
The Chinese "Soaring Dragon" is equipped with an original wing shape, which combines a closed wing of normal and reverse sweep. The wing consists of two planes located one above the other and interconnected by curved rings. This shape of the wing has a large lifting force and allows in cruising mode to significantly reduce fuel consumption and increase flight duration.
According to American data, with a takeoff weight of up to 8 kg, the WZ-000 Xianlong UAV
capable of climbing to a height of 18 meters and covering a distance of more than 300 km. Maximum speed - up to 7 km / h. The total payload weight is 000 kg.
To search for surface targets, the Soaring Eagle is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar. When flying at high altitude, the detection range of a destroyer-type target can exceed 450 km. Through satellite and radio channels, through relay aircraft and other drones, data on detected targets should be transmitted to headquarters, as well as to coastal and sea anti-ship systems. According to US naval intelligence, the WZ-7 Xianlong UAV, along with reconnaissance spacecraft, is part of the target designation system for coastal-based anti-ship ballistic missiles DF-21D.
UAV mobile control center and mobile space communication stations
The main one is an autonomous flight mode using the Chinese Beidou satellite navigation system and data transmission equipment via satellite communication channels.
The deployment of the WZ-7 Xianlong UAV was carried out in 2018. According to Chinese sources, 11 air bases have been prepared for the operation of long-range drones, mainly on the east coast of China.
Google Earth Satellite Image: HQ-4 Xianglong UAV at Ishtuntun Air Base
Soaring Dragons stationed at Shigatz Air Base were used during the Doklam crisis in August 2017. Chinese "closed wing" drones have also been spotted at Lingshui Air Base, located on Hainan Island and Woody Island in the South China Sea. Very often, WZ-7 Xianlong UAVs operate together with long-range reconnaissance aircraft based on Y-8, H-6 aircraft or with KJ-200 and KJ-500 AWACS aircraft. At the end of June 2019, Taiwanese media reported that the HQ-4 Xianglong UAV was used to track the USS Antietam CG-54 Ticonderoga-class missile cruiser that passed through the Taiwan Strait.
In 2015, pictures appeared of the Divine Eagle heavy jet UAV (“Divine Eagle”), which was supposed to surpass the American RQ-4 Global Hawk. This Chinese apparatus became known after it began to be tested in Shenyang, and it fell into the lenses of cameras of satellites observing the earth's surface, and after that it was photographed by observers on the factory runway.
UAV Divine Eagle at the factory airfield in Shenyang
The heavy UAV Divine Eagle has a tandem body with one turbojet engine in the middle and two keels. According to expert estimates, the Divine Eagle is equipped with a turbofan engine with a thrust of 3,5 to 5 tons, which is enough to lift a drone with a takeoff weight of 12–18 tons.
Model UAV Divine Eagle
There is no reliable information about the exact dimensions and flight data of a heavy two-keel UAV. But, judging by satellite images obtained at the factory airfield of the Shenyang Aviation Corporation Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SYAC), the length of its fuselage can be from 15 to 18 m, and the wingspan is estimated at 40–45 m.
Satellite image of Google Earth: Divine Eagle UAV at the factory airfield in Shenyang. The size of the drone can be judged by the J-11 fighter jet on the left side of the image
Judging by the dimensions and layout of the Divine Eagle UAV, it can be assumed that the practical range of its flight will be no less than that of the American RQ-4 Global Hawk heavy reconnaissance drone. The exact flight data of the Divine Eagle is not known, but it is believed that the patrol altitude can exceed 20 km, and the cruising speed is in the range of 750–800 km/h.
The Chinese media write that 7 AFAR antennas are placed on the outer surfaces of the Divine Eagle UAV. The transmission of radar information should take place in real time via radio relay and satellite communication channels. It is generally accepted that the main purpose of the largest Chinese unmanned vehicle is to track American aircraft carrier strike groups.
Apparently, unlike the HQ-4 Xianglong UAV, not many Divine Eagle drones have been built, and they are currently in trial operation, after which a decision will be made on further use.
Satellite image of Google Earth: UAV Divine Eagle and HQ-4 Xianglong at Anshun Air Base. To the right of the drones are mobile command posts and satellite communication stations with parabolic antennas.
Heavy drones "Soaring Dragon" and "Divine Eagle" were spotted at the Anshun air base in Guizhou province, where the Chinese control center for unmanned aerial vehicles using satellite data transmission channels is located. In this area, by 2015, all the necessary infrastructure was built, stationary parabolic antennas were installed and there are several mobile drone control kits.
In the immediate vicinity of the Anshun Air Base, there are workshops of the Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation (GAIC), where heavy Chinese UAVs are being assembled.
Since 2018, mobile space communication systems have been deployed in the southern and southwestern regions of China. According to foreign observers, this is due to the massive influx of heavy drones with a long flight range into the troops.
To be continued ...
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Information