Important information was recently revealed by the head of the “Y-20 First Regiment” in an interview with CCTV, which made many Chinese military fans overjoyed, in which he talked about “Y-20 refueling aircraft” and “Y-20 early warning aircraft“.
After Y-20 tanker that has been put into test flight, the long-known project of Y-20 platform airborne early warning aircraft is finally been confirmed this time.
According to public papers published by Chinese leaders in the field of domestic early warning aircraft such as Lu Jun – chief engineer of the KJ-2000 project – in recent years, among the four capabilities of the next-generation early warning aircraft: high detection capability, high anti-interference capability, high identification capability, and high battlefield management capability, high detection capability of the fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft is required to be over 360 kilometers.
Although early warning aircraft experts also believe that in the future, the early warning aircraft platform will continue to develop on platforms of all sizes, and small and medium-sized aircraft platforms will be focused, while unmanned early warning system will also become a major direction, advantages of a large-size early warning aircraft platform have never been neglected.
In fact, even before the Y-20 transport aircraft entered service, there had been rumors about the next-generation large-scale early warning aircraft program called KJ-3000, which would use Y-20 as a platform.
According to Zhen Chadian, a military analyst, the contemporary development of conformal antenna technology can better take advantage of the conformal antenna, which no longer needs to be compensated by significantly adjusting the aerodynamic shape of the carrier as in the past. There will be fewer restrictions on size, which helps to make full use of the body space to arrange larger radar antennas.
This is an appealing idea for the next-generation early warning aircraft which are supposed to be anti-stealth, like KJ-3000 AEW&C aircraft, as Chinese academician Wang Xiaomo, “the father of China’s early warning aircraft,” said, “The next-generation early warning aircraft should be given a higher goal, that is, to be ahead in all ways, and the Chinese will lead the new trend of early warning aircraft.”
Updated: According to January 2024 reports, the KJ-3000 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft is likely to have replaced its original large rotating radar disc with an entirely new radar technology – the globally innovative digital phased array radar technology known as “conformal antenna.” The “conformal antenna” covers all directions of the KJ-3000 AEW aircraft, providing a more comprehensive detection angle and achieving true 360-degree detection without blind spots.
Equipped with the “conformal antenna,” the KJ-3000 AEW aircraft will possess a more comprehensive and sensitive situational awareness capability. This technology is considered groundbreaking and could render all stealth aircraft vulnerable in its presence.
The platform carrying the KJ-3000, the renowned Y-20 large transport aircraft, is entirely domestically produced in China. This ensures independence from external constraints and allows for autonomous decisions on production quantity based on requirements.
In practical applications, the KJ-3000 not only possesses cutting-edge C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) capabilities but also enables the establishment of a comprehensive network-centric warfare capability.
Command and coordination are crucial in warfare, and the KJ-3000, equipped with advanced communication equipment and systems, can efficiently communicate and coordinate with almost all airborne combat aircraft, command centers, and other ground forces in China. This enhances the Chinese Air Force’s ability to execute missions and improves combat effectiveness on the battlefield.
Particularly, the unique advanced radar technology allows the KJ-3000 to identify and assess the enemy’s most advanced stealth technology from a distance of 500 kilometers, potentially nullifying the stealth advantage of the United States, which possesses the most advanced stealth technology.
Reportedly, the United States is accelerating the development progress of its sixth-generation stealth fighter aircraft, with the first prototype possibly taking its maiden flight between 2025 and 2030, and achieving initial operational capability in the early 2030s. This almost implies that after 2030, the US military’s sixth-generation stealth fighters, B-21 stealth strategic bombers, and unmanned stealth aircraft will appear and be deployed on the battlefield.
It is widely known that the United States possesses the most advanced stealth technology globally, and the stealth capabilities of these new-generation aircraft will significantly surpass those of existing aircraft, posing a greater challenge to the detection capabilities of AEW aircraft.
Therefore, the target of the KJ-3000 is the emergence of new-generation stealth aircraft with capabilities beyond those of the B-21, which will appear after the 2030s, effectively exposing the stealth capabilities of the B-21.
Analyses suggest that the KJ-3000 will greatly change current air combat rules and the application of AEW aircraft. When coordinated with unmanned AEW aircraft, it can enhance air situation monitoring capabilities to over a thousand kilometers away, potentially locking onto stealth fighters as soon as they take off.
Equipping the KJ-3000 AEW aircraft in the future will make the Chinese Air Force more proactive in the Pacific standoff.