Difficult to say, we have clearly confirmed: ... and I expect 7104 again missing!
7101:
7103:
7105 & 7106
plus that one (could be 01 or 02 or another one):
KJ-600 carrierborne AEWC thread & possible KY-600 (?) COD aircraft
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
Difficult to say, we have clearly confirmed: ... and I expect 7104 again missing!
7101:
7103:
7105 & 7106
plus that one (could be 01 or 02 or another one):
Broccoli
Senior Member
They could deploy these on more remote locations like US plans to do with Hawkeye.
All the SCS airfields is capable of supporting KJ-500H/700. It's pretty much one of the only advantages of using military transport as a basis for special mission with short takeoff designed into it. However the biggest argument I heard for USAF E-2D is that you could put them into small hardened shelters to protect against drones.
This is a sign of internal fracture within China. The Army will overthrow CCP and establish a junta similar to Beiyang govt.
Best China flag - something about the blend of the 5 colors just works
One key point which carrier-based AEW&C aircrafts (E-2C/D and KJ-600) excels at is their STOL capability. This is a major factor of consideration for the JASDF, which is why they operate 18x (and increasing) E-2C/Ds, versus only a meager fleet of 4x E-767s - Mainly due to the need for operating from many of their islands with only short runways available on them.
Though, when it comes to KJ-600 - Despite bearing a lot of similarities to the E-2C/D, how much do they differ from one another?
For one, given that the KJ-600 is anticipated/expected to be propelled by two WJ-10/AEP500 turboprop engines with 5000 kW of power output (which is a significant step-up over the T56-A-427A and WJ-6C’s ~3800 kW), could the KJ-600 operate from the STOBAR twins (albeit only from launch position #3)? If that's a yes, then there will be a need for at least 8 more KJ-600s.
Moreover, there's the question of whether the KJ-600 is capable of high-altitude operations in mountainous terrains. If that's also a yes, this means the KJ-600 could be deployed at the frontline airbases across the Xizang Plateau. Given that they don't need runways that are as long as land-based aircrafts, their STOL capability could come in handy for operations in high-altitude airbases where the atmosphere is thinner.
Of course, the two aforementioned points are just my inference on the matter.
A bigger AWACS plane with longer endurance and better radar is so vastly superior to a smaller AWACS plane that I don't see the PLAAF ever ordering KJ-600. They already have KJ-500s on the Indian border and they won't have any use for a less capable plane. The tradeoff in performance is only worth it on carriers because a bigger plane is not an option. There's a reason why the PLAN still operates land-based AWACS. By the way, this is precisely why the USAF dropping the E-7 in favor of the E-2D is such a disaster.
