this is from irkut's official website on A-50
The A-50 Radar Early-Warning and Guiding Aircraft is designed for detection, tracking, and identification of friend-or-foe of aerial, big-size ground and sea-surface targets, as well as for transmitting acquired data on targets to command posts of various military services. The aircraft is also employed for directing friendly aircraft to the aerial, ground, and sea-surface targets.
Basic Performance
Max takeoff weight, kg 190,000
Patrolling time span at 1,000-km distance, h *:
- without aerial refueling 4
- with one aerial refueling 7
Detection range of aerial targets, km:
- bomber 650
- low-flying fighter up to radio-horizon
- cruise missile (RCS = 1 m2) 215
- sea-surface ships (RCS = 250 m2) up to radio-horizon
Detection range of ground targets, km *:
- single mid-range missile launcher 300
- group target of «tank column» type 250
Number of tracked aerial targets up to 300
Frequency bands:
- ELINT, GHz 0.5 ... 18
- SIGINT, MHz 50 ... 500
Crew, pers.
- flight crew 5
- payload operators 11
* - characteristics may be changed on Customer's request.
Also found at
So yes, 220 sounds like a good number for low RCS fighters (~1 m^2). For su-27s, I would imagine the number to be at least 1.5 time of that.
CHINA SLIPS PAST U.S. AWACS BAN -- Russian officials say they are going to lend China two Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) radar surveillance aircraft for three years, and then sell them advanced, $200-million versions of the AWACS airplane in a deal similar to that offered previously by Israel -- which the U.S. opposed and believes it has killed. Delivery of up to six advanced A-50E AWACS airplanes to China is to be completed by 2005, according to both U.S. and Russian officials.
Even a first-generation Russian A-50 AWACS with a limited radar range up to 150 miles would be a key element in increasing the coordination and striking power of China's air forces. China currently has very little capability for directing groups of aircraft in a combat environment. This shortcoming has been one reason that neither Taiwan or the U.S. have been overly concerned about Chinese invasion threats, since air superiority would be necessary for any successful thrust across the Taiwan Strait.
The standard Russian-built A-50 is a "far-less capable AWACS than the Chinese would have had" if purchase of an Israeli-developed Phalcon system had been completed. The current Russian AWACS is "early 1980s technology at best," said a U.S. radar company official. "It's large and bulky," has established a reputation for low reliability and involves old transmitter/receiver technology. However, the Russians are offering the A-50E, a derivative of the standard A-50 mainstay that carries a radar developed by the Moscow-based "NII Priborostroenie" scientific and research institute. The performance attributed to the system by Russian sources includes the ability to detect cruise missiles against ground or sea clutter at a range of up to 250 mi. The radar is expected to take three years for production, tests and integration into the aircraft.
U.S. Air Force analysts are said to be skeptical of the Russian performance claims. "The A-50E [will be] less capable than the Israeli-modified A-50I," said a U.S. official. "The A-50E will have a search range [for aircraft] of approximately 125 naut. mi. and the capability to track up to 50 targets. The A-50I would have had a maximum effective search range of approximately 205-215 naut. mi. and the capability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously with the more advanced EL/M-2075 [L-band] radar."
Israeli aerospace industry officials, frustrated by last-minute U.S. opposition to their China sale, have vowed to ask for a reassessment of the program once the new U.S. administration is in office. (AW&ST July 17, pp. 38, 45 /// Wash Post Nov 29. P.9, David Fulghum) (Jonkers)
a lot of this stuff kind of confuses me. The official site list the ability to track up to 300 aerial targets, but some other site only lists 50 targets. I wonder how that differs so much?
Even the skymaster radar on Y-8J claims the capability to track 100 aerial targets and 32 ground/sea targets.
As for eventual AWACS count, I would guess:
25 KJ-2000 for PLAAF
30 Y-8 balance beam for PLAAF
12 Y-8 balance beam for PLANAF
4 Y-7 mushroom type for carriers
4-6 Y-8J
For the other Y-8 surveillence: (ECM, ELINT, command post, battlefield surveillence, MPA and possibly ASW)
a total of up to 40?
Basically, China needs a lot of F600 and Y-9s.
