PLA AEW&C, SIGINT, EW and MPA thread

[tphuang]

new pictures of the high new series.

The first one is high new 1, second one is Y-8X, third one is high new 4 and fourth one is high new 7.

 

[Engineer]

It would seem that KJ-2000 is at Zhuhai as well.

 

[tphuang]

So, there is a few photos and more importantly, news, regarding to the high new series. First of all, although no official picture of High New 6, the ASW variant, has come out, we got a model of it (the 3rd picture) and I'm convinced that it looks exactly like the Y-8X photos I just got below. Or maybe this Y-8X is high new 6, I don't know.

Also, more importantly, we get an insight into the PLAN purchasing program with this article.

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Basically, PLAN put in an order for 2 High New 6 aircrafts in December of 2005 and they amounted to 400 million RMB. Meaning, each Y-8GX6 cost 200 million RMB or 30 million USD in today's dollar. Pretty cheap if you ask me.

And from the official Shanfei website

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飞控室团支部与党支部联合组织了“十七大相关知识问卷答题”活动；结构室围绕 “六号工程”结构设计开展了“六号工程”武器舱、机翼结构、尾段设计开展青年突击，为充分调动团员青年工作的积极性和主动性，团支部精心组织筹备平安夜活动，做到了工作与活动两不误、两促进，最终提前2天完成突击任务，受到单位领导的一致好评。系统室团支部四季度共开展生产突击2次9个项目43人次参与，涉及“五号工程”、“四号工程”、海C，现已完成。强度室团支部组织生产突击4次，内容主要为运8C强度校核、“六号工程”E罩、球形框、“六号工程”强度设计方案完善等突击任务，均已全面完成，受到单位党政领导的嘉奖。12月8日，科技处、总体室预研办、航电火控室等5个团支部联合在航测团举办了体育运动项目比赛，赛后组织了联欢活动，有40余名团员青年参与此项活动。

It talks about structural design for high new 6 project's weapon bay, wing structure and tail structure.
P-3C carries mines, depth bombs, torpedoes and I would imagine that High new 6 would do the same. And it also talks about different works for high new 5, high new 4, Y-8C and high new 6 all being finished.

Anyway, more releases on the statuses of the entire High New project. You can see all the Y-8 special planes here. Interestingly enough that the Y-8 AEW for PAF has the name project 021. And you can see that Y-8GX5 is using Y-8F600, whereas Y-8GX3,4, project 021 are using Y-8F400 (I'm guessing that's the case for GX6,7 also) and Y-8C, GX1,2 are using Y-8F200

 

[sinowarrior]

any idea what does 海C means? Y8C for navy?

 

[PrOeLiTeZ]

any idea what does 海C means? Y8C for navy?

海 means "sea/ocean" most probably for marinetime patrols/survalliance.

 

[sinowarrior]

yea that's what i was thinking, then i guess projet 6 and Y-8C navy are two separate projects, but if 6 already contained weapon bay and all the survalliance stuff then what is y-8C navy's purpose? a special airframe purely designed for navy where project 6 is based on?

 

[jawad]

No its not Balance Beam. I think it was ACM or may be I read somewhere else that it would be rotodome. Plus, the AWACs [from China] I saw in Islamabad was based on Y-8 with Rotodome. So I believe PAF is not going for Balance Beam.

in an interview to AFM (july or august issue)PAF Chief said that by 2015 PAF will get 4 Y-8 based AWACS using a razer radar instead of a dish/Rotodome, which basically means the KJ-200 balance beam rather than the Y-8 dish/Rotodome based AWACS:china:

in same interview PAF Chief has outlined PAF fleet requirements for 2015 fleet. according to this interview By 2015, PAF will comprise 240 JF-17, 60 F-16's, 40 FC-20's (PAF version of J-10), 50 F-7PG's, 4 SAAB Erieye, 4 ZDK03 AEWC(PAF name for its Y-8 aewc):china:, 4 IL-78 Midas. Current order status comprises; 150 JF-17's, 32 F-16's (variant unspecified), 4 Erieye's, 4 IL-78.150 JF-17's are expected to equip 7-8 squadrons.Delivery of JF-17 has already started and once the assembly facility has been completed at AMF, the induction pace will pick-up to eventually allow delivery of 25-30 aircraft per year to achieve the final numbers by 2015.Without making any reference to the first 50 JF-17 (persumably) already ordered, the interview goes straight to the question on the final configuration of the next batch order of 50 aircraft. Only thing mentioned here without going into specifics is that a final decsion on final configuration has been made, but the make and origin of the equipment type is under consideration. And no decision has yet been made on AESA radar.Peshawar based 26 & 16 Sqn's will be the first to convert from A-5 to JF-17 in 2009.

 

[tphuang]

this is kind of interesting, PAF is buying I guess 4 Y-8 AEWs for $278 million. It's definitely cheaper than the contract for 6 Erieye for $1 billion (i know it's 5 now, but per unit cost probably didn't change).

Islamabad (dpa) - Pakistan has reached agreement with China to buy
modern Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes for extended
surveillance of its airspace, a media report said on Thursday.
Under the 278-million-dollar deal, the unmanned surveillance
aircraft will be delivered to Pakistan during the next four years on a
deferred payment basis, according to English-language daily The News.
Pakistani Minister for Defence Production Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi
presented the details of the agreement to the country's lower house of
parliament on Wednesday.
The report came as tensions between Pakistan and India are
intensifying following last month's Mumbai terrorist attacks, which
New Delhi believes were carried out by Pakistan-based Islamic
militants.
Islamabad has claimed that two Indian jet fighters violated its
airspace last week. An Indian envoy was summoned to Pakistan's foreign
ministry on Thursday for a formal protest over the incident. dpa yam

 

[challenge]

anymore more technical detail about the aircraft? do the radar uses PESA,AESA or just a conventional slotted array antenna?
beside the radar,the most important component was the data distribution ,this jam proof communication was essential component for modern AEACS (or ground based air def.).to date,there no information about the chinese equivalent of link-16 based JTIDS.

 

[tphuang]

anymore more technical detail about the aircraft? do the radar uses PESA,AESA or just a conventional slotted array antenna?
beside the radar,the most important component was the data distribution ,this jam proof communication was essential component for modern AEACS (or ground based air def.).to date,there no information about the chinese equivalent of link-16 based JTIDS.

you know, I always thought in the beginning that this was a mechanically scanned raadar like the one on E-2C. But it seems there are enough noise out of China and Pakistan for an AESA solution that I'm going to have to wait and see on this. It's kind of hard to believe though.