I just read somewhere that Pakistan's Navy is apparently inducting a custom-made MPA/ASW jet-based aircraft based on the Embraer 1000E lineage with equipment from Italy/United States and modifications in South Africa. Makes me wonder why China can't also pull something like this off, could probably build an even better MPA aircraft by procuring some ~50ish airliners that no one wants anymore. China won't even need to source a single part from anywhere else too.
PLA AEW&C, SIGINT, EW and MPA thread
- Thread starter Sczepan
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The satellite imagery of Yanliang has been updated, with both KJ-2000 and KJ-3000 clearly seen on the tarmac. Posted by @foolsball on Twitter.
As can be seen, both the fixed radome and rotodome on the KJ-2000 and KJ-3000 are about the same size. However, the dual-array rotodome on the KJ-3000 is visibly larger than the triple-array fixed radome on the KJ-2000.
As can be seen, both the fixed radome and rotodome on the KJ-2000 and KJ-3000 are about the same size. However, the dual-array rotodome on the KJ-3000 is visibly larger than the triple-array fixed radome on the KJ-2000.
Is it just the zoom, or the Y-20 airframe has smaller wing surface area than the Ilyushin? If so, what's the reason behind it?
Today marks the 13th anniversary of the KJ-500's first flight. Posted by @朱大象 on Weibo.
China has surpassed the US in AEW&C in a totalistic comparison. In EW and ground observation stuff, the US is better in a totalistic sense but China has the local advantage. In tankers, it is still solid American advantage.
How is the US ahead in EW? And what's "ground observation stuff"?
Favouring China is pretty comprehensive nowadays. In total numbers and modernity -> technology.
Even considering all the AEWC aircraft in the entire US inventory, China's already outnumbers the US in KJ-200, KJ-2000, KJ-500 and soon KJ-3000 and KJ-600 in total are nearly all considerably more modern than the US E-2, E-3, and E-7 variants. There are more KJ-500 than E-3. The US has a lot of P8s though but China has also built a behemoth amount of KQ-200 and various Y8 and Y9 based electronic warfare, ISR, AEWC aircraft too.
If we're focused on just western pacific, China outnumbers the US probably around 3:1 in support assets if we dont consider tankers but tankers is more important for the US since it's stretching itself all the way across the Pacific and much more dependent on tankers. In a war, they can expect to lose pretty much all their tankers on the ground in regional bases and in the air within a few days if they survive even past a few hours.
Even with tankers, China is now spam building Y-20 tankers. KJ-600 is also a new addition to match the E-2 in purpose.
China needs to continue beefing up its navy to match 1:1 with US and then exceed and match 1:1 US + all regional navies just in case. It'll be more modern while doing it since it doesn't stop modernising and performs modernisation in a continuous cycle rather than the block cycle sometimes going for decades like the US does. Totally different economic and industrial structure. The US loses not in the pure hardware but in the structure of the underlying system. They cannot improve and get out of the capitalism trap because they firmly and foolishly commit to its incorrectly perceived superiority. They are responsible for their own unmaking but will blame it on everyone including their own elected leaders who are trying desperately to fix a fundamentally broken and problematic system. China has its own unique problems but quickly mass producing high enough quality arms for cheap and continuously improving is certainly not one of these problems.
EW is by far the most secretly held content in modern warfare and when it comes to MIC.
I would assume that US and China are neck and neck when it comes to EW. China's software, communications and computing technologies are no worse than US and in fact can be considered a bit more comprehensively held under one roof (China) compared to the US where supply chains and technologies are a bit more spread out through East Asia and Europe along with the US.
Ground observation is pretty much US in lead in numbers and quality/capability. The utility of that relatively small lead isn't quite as great though, compared to something like say number of missiles you can produce. The granularity of Chinese ground observation space assets have matched the latest US ones in recent years but the numbers of the most modern analogs are behind the US. Sort of like saying China has far fewer 055s than the Burke flight IIs and up but we cant exactly say US destroyers are better. Overall the USN is more capable than PLAN as a unit like with the ground observation but trend wise, China is going to dominate in no time with the pace and rate. Next gen ones are just beyond the horizon and will be as quickly put into action as the current ones.
American advantage in western pacific is all but gone. They have allies though and a greater sense of confidence/arrogance which will give them higher morale until the ships start getting hit with Mach 10 warheads.
Note what some credible commenters from the Chinese side have been saying recently re YJ-20. Its footage are being shown only because it has long been a very typical mainstay anti-ship weapon, a reliable, resilient mainstay. The latest anti-ship technology that has been introduced is beyond the capability of YJ-20 equivalents (most likely HGVs and HCMs like YJ-17 and YJ-19) and the generation superseding those are in testing. We get hints and images of the latest in service weapons. Footage and greater visual material of mainstays (older ones were YJ-12, YJ-18, DF-21D). That's been the method for decades.
The US navy would have trouble dealing with PLAN armed only with YJ-12, YJ-18 and DF-21D. It'll likely lose a significant volume just against a 2000s PLAN. Against a 2020s PLAN, PLANAF, PLARF, and PLAAF, the USN in western Pacific stands zero chance of avoiding absolute and total annihilation. The US military leadership themselves admit to this.
We haven't even introduced DF-26, DF-27, YJ-20, YJ-17, YJ-19 and the PLAN surface combatant YJ-xx HG/CM which is a UVLS launched HCM or boost glider/cruise missile.
PLANAF just desperately needs to match the USN in stretching the operational sphere of its airborne wing to match all the PLARF and PLAN development. It needs another 5 super carriers.
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