News Story: China deploys new anti-submarine aircraft to fringes of South China Sea

An unpainted GX-6/Y-8Q during testing (File Photo)

By: Mike Yeo

MELBOURNE, Australia — China has deployed its newest anti-submarine aircraft and stepped up unmanned aircraft deployments to Hainan island on the fringes of the South China Sea, according to satellite imagery obtained by Defense News.

Satellite photos taken on May 10 and May 20 by commercial satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe showed four Shaanxi Y-8Q turboprop aircraft with its distinctive magnetic anomaly detector boom parked on the ground at Lingshui Air Base in the southeastern part of China’s Hainan island. 

The satellite pass from May 10 also showed three Harbin BZK-005 high-altitude, long-range UAVs at the base. This is the largest number of BZK-005s to have been seen at Lingshui since they were first noted in 2016. The drones have also previously been observed at the Chinese air base at nearby Woody Island, in the disputed Paracel Islands.

A KJ-500 AEW&C Aircraft (File Photo)

In addition, two KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft were also seen at Lingshui on both occasions. Defense News had previously reported on the deployment of the KJ-500 to Hainan at nearby Jialaishi Air Base that had been seen on satellite photos taken in March, which was the first time the KJ-500 had been seen deployed by the People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN. 

This is the first time the Y-8Q has been seen at Hainan, with China having previously rotationally deployed maritime patrol aircraft detachments to Lingshui, made up of a mixture of older Y-8Js and Y-8Xs drawn from the PLAN's two special-mission aircraft regiments based in northern China.  

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Report: China Deploys New Spy Aircraft in Disputed South China Sea

KJ-500 AEW&C Aircraft

China has extended its surveillance and monitoring operations to include the deployment of a new early warning system- and radar-equipped aircraft.

The KJ-500 recently took off joined older patrol aircraft at the Jialaishi Air Base on Hainan Island, the southernmost province of China that sits prominently in the disputed South China Sea, according to satellite image from DigitalGlobe. 

The KJ-500 can monitor the movements of up to 60 planes within a 470 kilometer radius of the plane, according to the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation. Like the J-20’s comparisons to the F-35, the KJ-500 reportedly looks an awful lot like a replica of US early-warning aircraft because of how the radar dome is mounted atop the plane’s fuselage.

This radar can be used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and general intelligence gathering, according to the plane’s manufacture. This capability may become more useful in the South China Sea where many nations claim ancestral or territorial right to different islets, reefs, and coral shelves. 

News Story: Satellite image shows Chinese deployment of new aircraft to South China Sea

KJ-500 AEW&C Aircraft

By: Mike Yeo

MELBOURNE, Australia — China has deployed its latest airborne early warning and control aircraft to an air base on the fringes of the disputed South China Sea, according to exclusive satellite imagery obtained by Defense News.

The photo taken March 24 by commercial satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe shows a pair of Shaanxi KJ-500 turboprop AEW&C aircraft with its distinctive radar dish on the ground at Jialaishi Air Base in the northern part of China’s Hainan island. Two other Y-8 aircraft — an older KJ-200 AEW&C aircraft, and the other possibly a Y-8J or Y-8X maritime patrol aircraft — can be seen alongside the KJ-500s. 

KJ-200 AEW&C Aircraft

This is the first time the KJ-500 has been deployed to Hainan, with China having previously rotationally deployed special mission aircraft detachments to the island. These detachments are drawn from two special-mission aircraft regiments of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, based in northern China. The detachments are usually made up of a mixture of KJ-200 AEW&C aircraft with Y-8Js and Y-8Xs, and they tend to operate from Lingshui on the southeastern tip of Hainan. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Latest Chinese Airpower To Debut at Zhuhai Airshow

KJ-500 AEW&C Aircraft

by Mike Yeo

China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) will be showcasing a number of new platforms at the 11th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, which will be held next week at Zhuhai airbase near Guangdong. They include Chengdu J-10B multirole fighter, the Xi’an H-6K bomber and the Shaanxi KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft. Airshow organizers were also touting a “secret combat aircraft” belonging to the PLAAF for the flying display, which is thought to be the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter, currently in low-rate initial production (LRIP). But it was missing from the updated line-up that they published today.

A pair of LRIP J-20s sporting a new two-tone dark gray splinter camouflage have been observed carrying out maneuvers and formation flying over Chengdu Aircraft Corporation’s facilities, further fueling speculation the type will make its debut at Zhuhai this year.

Meanwhile, the appearance of the J-10B confirms that the type has entered PLAAF service. The aircraft that is in Zhuhai carries tail serials for the PLAAF’s 2nd Air Division, 5th Regiment based at Guilin, Guangxi. Photos of J-10Bs in PLAAF colors have been appearing since late 2014, but with tail serials either blurred or edited out altogether, precluding identification of their unit.

Read the full story at AINonline

News Story: China's H-6K bomber to be showcased at first public event

China's H-6K Bomber (File Photo)

by Geoff Ziezulewicz

China's H-6K medium and long range bomber will be open to the public for the first time this week, the official People's Liberation Army Daily reported.

The bomber's availability will take place Thursday during the "Pursuing the Aero Dream" event in Changchun, an event to mark the 70th anniversary of the Old Northeast Aviation School there, PLA Daily quoted People's Liberation Army air force officials as saying.

The H-6K is the country's indigenously made bomber, largely used for long-range precision strikes and tactical bombing missions, PLA Daily reported.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: China Reveals Origin of AEWC Radar

KJ-500 AEW&C

Wendell Minnick

Chinese Radar AEWC Revelations

TAIPEI – A government-run media service, Xinhua, reported that the No. 38 Research Institute under the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) designed the radar platform and system for the new KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) aircraft.

The Institute is actually known as the East China Research Institute of Electronic Engineering (ECRIEE) in Hefei, Anhui Province. It is one of the numerous institutes under the CETC umbrella (CETC-38). ECRIEE works closely with the Hefei-based Department of Radar Armaments under the National Remote Sensing Center of China.

Xinhua quoted Xiong Qunli, CETC chairman, as confirming the information in a March 14 article. The radar is attached to the top of the aircraft in a round radome similar to the Northrop E-2 Hawkeye. The KJ-500 is a fixed-wing Y-9 four-turboprop aircraft.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: China's new early warning aircraft can track 60 targets

KJ-500 AEW&C Aircraft (File Photo)

China's new KJ-500 early warning aircraft, designed by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation, is capable of tracking about 60 aircraft within a range of 470 kilometers, according to the Washington-based Strategy Page.

With a round radar dome on the top of the fuselage, the KJ-500 looks more like a US early warning aircraft replica. It is distinguished by a smaller frame and a design based on the Y-9 four-engine turboprop aircraft.

The KJ-500 will eventually replace the People's Liberation Army Air Force's 11 KJ-200, carried by the smaller Y-8 aircraft with a long box-like radar.

Read the full story at Want China Times

News Story: Taiwan's defensive air superiority challenged by new Chinese aircraft

KJ-500 AWACS (Internet photo)

Taiwan's advantage over China in term of air defense may have been lost as the People's Liberation Army recently added a fleet of new airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft to its Air Force, a global defense magazine reported Thursday.

Referring to photographs that were released on a Chinese online military forum, the magazine IHS Jane's 360 said the Chinese Air Force has commissioned its newly developed KJ-500 AWACS aircraft to bolster its air superiority capabilities.

Reports from China indicate that the PLA Air Force had been relying on its KJ2000 AWACS aircraft, which is based on the design of the aging Russian Ilyushin IL-76 airframe, the online magazine said.

Despite its stellar maximum endurance rating, the PLA Air Force's fleet of 4 KJ-2000 aircraft is not enough to meet the country's need in combat, according to reports from China.

Read the full story at Want China Times

News Story: China conducts test flights for nine aircraft - Kanwa

J-20 Test Flight (File Photo)

To strengthen the fighting and power projection capabilities of its air force, China is currently testing nine different new types of aircraft, according to the Canada-based Kanwa Defense Review.

One of those aircraft is China's first fifth-generation stealth fighter, the J-20. Photos released on a Chinese military website indicate that the J-20 is a multirole fighter designed for both aerial combat and ground attack because of its longer and larger build than Russian fighters such as the Su-33 and Su-37. China is testing the avionic system of J-20 through attaching its radar to a Russian-built Tu-204 passenger plane.

Read the full story at Want China Times