The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) plans to develop a new airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the huge Xi'an Y-20 transport nicknamed "Chubby Girl" that entered service only last July.
This AEW&C aircraft will be optimized for detecting both aerial and maritime targets and will possess longer endurance, making it suitable for patrols well into the South China Sea and the Western Pacific. Two of the PLAAF's three existing AEW&C aircraft, the KJ-2000 and KJ-200, have radars optimized for detecting aerial targets above land.
The remaining AEW&C aircraft, the KJ-500, is China's newest and is capable of also detecting maritime targets. The PLAAF plans to have the KJ-500, which is powered by four turbo prop engines, replace the jet engine powered KJ-2000 because the former is cheaper to operate.
Wang Mingliang, a professor at the PLAAF Command College, said the new AEW&C aircraft based on the Y-20 will further narrow the gap between Chinese-made AEW&Cs and the world's most advanced AEW&Cs, especially those made by the United States.
Wang noted the main job of AEW&C aircraft is to search for and identify aerial targets. These planes also supply intelligence and to other combat aircraft such as fighter jets.
He said the radar on an AEW&C plane is more flexible has a longer detection range compared to land-based radars. Wang revealed that China's land-based radars are only installed on some islands and reefs along the coast, and are unable to support combat aircraft that venture over water.
AEW&C aircraft will, therefore, play a key role in preserving China's territorial maritime sovereignty; safeguarding its maritime rights and interests and reinforcing the maritime defense in depth, which is the anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) defensive system protecting the mainland.
More important, AEW&C aircraft are a precondition for the PLAAF to become a global force to be reckoned with.
"It is indeed possible that China will modify the AEW&C aircraft based on Y-20, which conforms to the laws on technical development of AEW&C aircraft around the world," said Wang.
He expects the Y-20 AEW&C to have longer range and loiter time, and will very likely carry out distant over water missions, including overseas escort. Its radar performance will be significantly improved.