Engineering:Shaanxi KJ-200
| KJ-200 | |
|---|---|
 KJ-200 | |
| General information | |
| National origin | China |
| Manufacturer | Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation |
| Management and usage | People's Liberation Army Air Force People's Liberation Army Navy |
| Number built | 11 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 2007 |
| First flight | 2005 |
| Developed from | Shaanxi Y-8 |
The KJ-200 (NATO reporting name: Moth[1]) is an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation[2] of China. It is a variant of the Shaanxi Y-8 military transport aircraft and also called the Y-8W. Enthusiasts called it the GX-5.[3]
Design and development
Development began in 2002 after the United States blocked the sale of the Israeli EL/W-2090 Phalcon radar to China.[4] According to Science and Technology Daily, Ouyang Shaoxiu, Shaanxi's chief designer, was the program's chief designer, and 80% of the Y-8 was modified to create the KJ-200.[5]
The primary sensor is a JY-06 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar[4] mounted in a "plank" or 'balance beam" housing above the fuselage;[6][4] the configuration resembles various uses of the Ericsson Erieye radar system.[7]
The aircraft's first flight was in January 2005. The second aircraft crashed in 2006 due to wing icing; the crash "almost derailed" the program.[4]
Operational history
The KJ-200 aircraft entered service with the People's Liberation Army in 2007.[8] Its first official public appearance was at the 2009 Chinese National Day Parade.[9]
In February 2017, a US Navy Lockheed P-3 Orion and a KJ-200 inadvertently passed within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of each other over the South China Sea.[10][11]
Variants
- KJ-200
- Base variant.
- KJ-200A
- Modified KJ-200 with revised nose section and new electronics. First observed in December 2016.[12]
- "KJ-200AG"
- Unofficial designation for KJ-200A with inflight air refueling probe.[12]
- KJ-200H
- Modified KJ-200 for PLA Navy.[12]
- KJ-200B
- Adds satellite communications and new electronics.[8] First observed in 2016. Entered service in 2023.[12]
Operators
People's Republic of China
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The International Institute for Strategic Studies 2025, p. 245.
- ↑ Erickson 2014, p. 91.
- ↑ Dahm 2020, p. 6.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Wood 2020, p. 5.
- ↑ "预警机总师欧阳绍修：运-8被大胆修改了80%(1)". 13 July 2013. http://military.china.com/05/11078235/20110713/16644851.html.
- ↑ Dahm 2020, p. 7.
- ↑ Erickson 2014, p. 95.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "China assessing improved KJ-200 special mission aircraft". 10 February 2023. https://www.janes.com/osint-insights/defence-news/defence/china-assessing-improved-kj-200-special-mission-aircraft.
- ↑ Wood 2020, p. 33.
- ↑ "U.S., China military planes come inadvertently close over South China Sea". 10 February 2017. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-defense-idUSKBN15O2ZJ/.
- ↑ Browne, Ryan (10 February 2017). "Chinese and US aircraft in 'unsafe' encounter". https://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/09/politics/us-china-aircraft-unsafe-encounter/index.html.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Newdick, Thomas; Rupprecht, Andreas (5 April 2023). "China's Massive Fleet Of Radar Planes And The Strategy Behind It". https://www.twz.com/chinas-massive-fleet-of-radar-planes-and-the-strategy-behind-it.
- ↑ The International Institute for Strategic Studies 2025, p. 246.
Sources
- Dahm, J. Michael (2020). Special Mission Aircraft and Unmanned Systems (Report). South China Sea Military Capabilities Series. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. https://www.jhuapl.edu/sites/default/files/2022-12/SpecialMissionAircraftandUnmannedSystems.pdf.
- Erickson, Andrew S. (February 2014). Dutton, Peter; Erickson, Andrew S.; Martinson, Ryan. eds. China's Near Seas Combat Capabilities (Report). China Maritime Studies. 11. United States Naval War College. https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-red-books/11/.
- The International Institute for Strategic Studies (2025). The Military Balance 2025. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-041-04967-8.
- Wood, Peter; Cliff, Roger (November 2020). Chinese Airborne C4ISR. China Aerospace Studies Institute. ISBN 9798583085569. https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/CASI/Display/Article/2450727/chinese-airborne-c4isr/.
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