Prototype Chinese carrier-launched AEW&C. (Photo : PLAN)
Chinese state media has stage managed the release of the first pictures of what it claims is a prototype of China's first carrier-based airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) aircraft that performs functions similar to the U.S. Navy's Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye.
The unnamed prototype was spotted on the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) "carrier on land" at the Huangdicun Air Base in Wuhan province. This facility is a full size replica of the flight deck of the CNS Liaoning (CV-16), China's only operational aircraft carrier, and is used to test aircraft and equipment that will equip two new carriers now being built.
Knowledge that an AEW&C can only be launched by steam driven catapults confirms that China's third carrier will indeed feature a catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) system that's standard on all U.S. Navy Nimitz-class carriers.
An AEW&C aircraft is an airborne radar picket that detects aircraft, ships and vehicles at long ranges. It also performs command and control of the battlespace in an air engagement by directing fighter and attack aircraft strikes.
Photos of China's new AEW&C aircraft show a remarkable resemblance to the U.S. E-2D Hawkeye. Both planes are turboprops with a distinctive mast on which is emplaced a radome housing a rotating radar. Even the horizontal stabilizers of the Chinese plane look similar to that of the Hawkeye.
China's third aircraft carrier will also be its first conventional carrier featuring a lengthy, horizontal flight deck and the CATOBAR system. Construction of China's third carrier is taking place at the Jiangnan Changxingdao shipyard near Shanghai.
The third carrier will likely have a larger aircraft complement than the Liaoning or the modified second carrier, the Type 002 that will still have the ski jump.
The Liaoning can embark 36 aircraft: 24 Shenyang J-15 fighters; 6 Changhe Z-18F anti-submarine warfare helicopters; 4 Changhe Z-18J airborne early warning helicopters and 2 Harbin Z-9C rescue helicopters.
A photograph in Chinese online forums in late 2016 revealed that China's aircraft carrier mock-up in Huangdicun was modified with the removal of the ski-jump section. This change confirms speculation the mock-up has been modified into a carrier flight deck similar to those on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.
