J-16D. It messed with J-20’s sensors so that it couldn’t PL-15/16 the AWAC and disrupt the kill chain.
J-10 Thread IV
- Thread starter Jeff Head
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J-16D. It messed with J-20’s sensors so that it couldn’t PL-15/16 the AWAC and disrupt the kill chain.
That J-16D is a menace. Gave both the Type 055 and J20 a major headache. I think I severely underestimated the J-16D. Can't imagine the EW specs on the J-36 if a 4.5 Gen could do this.
I thought mixing EW and stealth in one plane was a no no
Why? One plane just appears out of nowhere and starts jamming. Probably timed at an unfortunate moment for you. You start addressing it but then another plane, at a different location, starts jamming, while the first one stops. You lose the track of the first one.
these are not short range escorts jammers. We are probably talking about jammers doing their bit from 100+ km away. All the while their main force is even closer to you, firing missiles.
lcloo
Major
In pure stealth mode, your enemy don't know you are there until you kill his mate. They still have the directional sensors guiding them where to run.
In steath and EW mode they know you are there but they can't locate you because all their sensors go blind, they might even lost their directional sensor and radio and headings, and don't know which direction to run.
The PLAAF has been actively pursuing such TTPs for countering 5th gen threats with "legacy platforms" since the 2000s, but things didn't kick into high gear until the 2010s when the J-10C, KJ-500, DWL002 and what not entered service.
The PLAAF isn't too keen about publicizing its TTPs, even if they've "been around for a minute." Guessing they're opening up now because:
1. Every major power is now openly pursuing cooperative engagement capabilities. No reason for China to pretend the PLA isn't.
2. The PAF's recent success in applying such TTPs — pioneered and passed on by the PLAAF — against 4th and 4½ gen IAF fighters on May 7, 2025 made it even more moot than before for the Chinese authorities to stay mum.
Any idea if any of the 高新 series (and/or the J-16D) were or are equipped with sensors (e.g. passive TDOA, FDOA, etc.) specific to counter-stealth mission sets?
J-16D jamming LPI/LPD AESA radars? Spectra never stood a chance.
J-16D doesn’t even have IRST if I recall correctly.
China is known to employ ground based TDOA systems like the DWL002 for identifying and tracking (V)LO aircraft; and from the looks of publicly available Chinese research into such technologies, China is almost certainly actively pursuing analogous space based systems.
Interestingly, not only was the CETC 29th Institute (中国电子科技集团公司第二十九研究所) responsible for developing the DWL002, YLC-29 and other neat ground based systems, but also the KZ900 ELINT pod.
No idea if the KZ900 is any good for counter-stealth, but between its designers' other good works, and active Chinese R&D into space based counter-stealth systems, one would reason that China may also employ, or to have at least experimented with some sort of "airborne DWL002," "airborne YLC-29" or something else along those lines.
I really don't know much, if anything, about things that fly, but I've wondered if the WZ-9 employs a twin boom configuration so there'll be enough distance to operate a pair of TDOA or FDOA sensors, or something else along those lines on a single aircraft.
It would explain all the Chinese language headlines characterizing the WZ-9 as a counter-stealth (反隐身) UAV.
