Air Force flies into the high-tech era

J-10 fighter jet J-10 fighter jet. WANG ZHUANGFEI/CHINA DAILY

China now has better information and electronic warfare capabilities as the People's Liberation Army has deployed some of the world's most advanced support aircraft, an aviation analyst said.

"A total of six types of electronic warfare planes and airborne early-warning and control aircraft were displayed at Thursday's parade. They are now key components of the PLA's information and electronic warfare capabilities," said Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine.

"These aircraft will cooperate in an actual strike operation to form a unified platform that is capable of integrating not only combat planes but also ground weapons and naval hardware," he said, noting this is a major breakthrough in the PLA's effort to strengthen its joint operational capabilities.

During the parade, nearly 200 aircraft of more than 20 types formed 10 formations and flew over Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, in the largest-ever display of the nation's military aircraft.

Support aircraft were the highlight of the air display. They included the PLA Air Force's KJ-2000 and KJ-500 airborne early-warning and control aircraft and the Y-8 maritime patrol aircraft of the PLA Navy's aviation wing.

The KJ-500 is the latest addition to the PLA's support aircraft fleet. The aircraft, which entered service earlier this year, has one fixed phased-array radar and two passive electronic intelligence arrays, according to IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. The United Kingdom-based publication quoted a Chinese television report as saying that this aircraft can track up to 100 targets simultaneously to a range of 470 kilometers.

Wang said that compared with its predecessor, the KJ-200, the KJ-500 boasts more advanced electronic instruments and 360-degree coverage, making it as powerful as the KJ-2000. Meanwhile, contrary to the KJ-2000's limited production caused by the use of the Russian Ilyushin Il-76 airframe, the KJ-500 can be mass-produced thanks to its adoption of the domestically developed Y-8 transport plane, he said.

The air display also marked the first public appearance of the PLA Navy's information warfare aircraft, which has substantially improved the Navy's maritime reconnaissance, surveillance and command capabilities and enable it to monitor a vast area of airspace in a timely manner, according to Wang.

In addition to supporting combat aircraft, some of the displayed planes have another unnoticed potential－they can relay data and conduct terminal guidance for ballistic missiles, Wang said.

"For instance, in an anti-carrier operation, the ship may keep moving, which requires the missiles to have very accurate terminal guidance. Here we can use the combination of military satellites and electronic support aircraft to help the missiles home in on their targets," he explained.