PLA AEW&C, SIGINT, EW and MPA thread
- Thread starter Sczepan
- Start date
It might have DIRCM given we know it is a mature product.
But the idea of a hard kill self defense system seems a bit unlikely given we have no evidence that such a system is anything near ready.
In any case this really isn't a system intended for any adversary that has even a modicum of air defense capability.
To be fair, C-130J are meant to be used to cover CSAR in high end when circumstances demand.
Soon it may be more often, as USAF war against A-10 may soon finally succeed.
As for PLAF, there's no such manned overwatch platform to chose from; gunship may end up doing it as there's no other choice really. Gun turret may suggest that being a use case.
"When circumstances demand" is the key part.
All CSAR tends to be done with massive overwhelming aerial, ISR and fires superiority anyway, to mitigate and suppress whatever modicum of air defense capability is removed.
For the PLA, the idea of them conducting CSAR is not that high in the more likely and pressing conflict scenarios to begin with.
Probably not a lot of ground clearance left if that turret doesnt retract up somewhat ? Maybe it will have some main landing gear changes?
Looking at it... not worse than Y-9Z/DZ? elint variant.
@foolsball on Twitter has pointed out on the significant reduction of the number of newly produced aircraft seen parked on the tarmac of Chenggu Airport (which is also Shaanxi AC's production site) in recent satellite imagery of the site.
This situation may have been lasting since November last year, according to @WhysEvryUsrTakn on Twitter in @foolsball's comment section:
@foolsball has noted that this could indicate that the production rate of the special mission aircraft based on the Y-8/9 family has slowed down significantly, possibly due to the present orders (from the PLAAF and PLAN) being mostly filled by now (and hence, production naturally slows down/comes to a halt).
On the other hand, @foolsball also cautioned against directly implying that the production will be shifted to a new model (which is logical, considering that the Y-15 just took flight about half a year ago).
This situation may have been lasting since November last year, according to @WhysEvryUsrTakn on Twitter in @foolsball's comment section:
@foolsball has noted that this could indicate that the production rate of the special mission aircraft based on the Y-8/9 family has slowed down significantly, possibly due to the present orders (from the PLAAF and PLAN) being mostly filled by now (and hence, production naturally slows down/comes to a halt).
On the other hand, @foolsball also cautioned against directly implying that the production will be shifted to a new model (which is logical, considering that the Y-15 just took flight about half a year ago).
plawolf
Lieutenant General
Rather than CSAR, I think such a gunship would make more sense and be more relevant to the times as an anti-drone platform (both air and surface). Which would also explain the calibre choice on the gun and the turret design.
40mm seems to be the sweet spot between hitting power and rate of fire for anti-air work, and would also pack plenty of punch to easily kill surface drones. There would be hardpoints for heavier ordinance to deal with bigger targets from greater distances, as well as the large platform itself offering all sorts of options in terms of supplementary defensive and offensive sub systems to really boost its effectiveness as well as long endurance to remain on station for prolonged periods.
There were hints that the PLA was very keen to have these things delivered so they could start playing around with them. Which suggest both a pressing need as well as a desire to rapidly develop combat doctrine for their use. CSAR just doesn’t fit that sense of urgency behind the project, whereas counter drones is the number one hot topic for militaries across the world right now.
If this works, it could provide answers to a hell of a lot of the most thorny drone related issues the military is grappling with, and could easily spawn a vast arrange of anti-drone systems based on similar principles.
While it's probably too early to draw firm conclusions, I wonder whether the slowdown could also be related to the rumored 757/767-sized multi-mission platform that has been discussed recently. If such a program exists, it would make sense as a future successor for a number of Y-9 special-mission variants.
On the one hand, Shaanxi AC has never produced a turbofan-powered aircraft before, so it's going to be a large undertaking for them (should this rumored/claimed project become a reality). In addition, it should be noted that the KJ-20/3000 is produced by Xi'an AC despite being a special mission aircraft.
On the other hand, if Shaanxi AC can relieve the workload of Xi'an AC (as they're already getting their hands full with the Y-20B, MA60/600/700, the upcoming H-20, and the upcoming Sino-C-5) by taking over the production of this rumored/claimed common platform aircraft, then it's certainly a good thing.
It's not uncommon for another company to takeover production after design. GJ-11 was AFAIK designed by SAC but is produced by Hongdu while J-10C shifted to Guizhou as well. It could be reasonable that Shaanxi could continue their expertise in special mission convertion and production while the airframe design is done by XAC.