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China's new early warning aircraft shown on the website｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
A photo of China's KJ-500 released on the Chinese military website (Internet Photo)
Photos of China's next generation early warning aircraft, nicknamed KJ-500 by military enthusiasts, have recently been released on the Chinese military's website, reports our sister newspaper, Want Daily.
Using the Shanxi Y-9 cargo plane as its fuselage, the aircraft was first mistaken for the ZDK-03 designed for the Pakistan Air Force. When it was observed that the aircraft was equipped with a similar Active Phased Array Radar system to that of the KJ-2000 early warning aircraft of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, Chinese internet users realized that what they were looking at was a totally different aircraft.
As the KJ-500 shown in the photo was clearly marked as a PLA aircraft, the state-run Xinhua news agency stated that this aircraft was designed for China, not Pakistan. After comparing the photo with a model aircraft held by Wang Xiaomo, the chief designer of KJ-2000, in another photo, the Xinhua article pointed to the possibility that this KJ-500 was to become China's next generation in early warning aircraft.
Pakistan had ordered about four ZDK-03 early warning aircraft from China with a contract of no more than US$300 million. Like the KJ-500, its main fuselage is modelled on the Shanxi Y-9 aircraft, however, the design of the active electronically scanned phased array radars in the ZDK-03 aircraft is very different to that of the KJ-2000. Apparently, the KJ-500 is developed to carry the same radar system as the KJ-2000. The aircraft remains surrounded in mystery, as no other details have been released.
A photo of China's KJ-500 released on the Chinese military website (Internet Photo)
Photos of China's next generation early warning aircraft, nicknamed KJ-500 by military enthusiasts, have recently been released on the Chinese military's website, reports our sister newspaper, Want Daily.
Using the Shanxi Y-9 cargo plane as its fuselage, the aircraft was first mistaken for the ZDK-03 designed for the Pakistan Air Force. When it was observed that the aircraft was equipped with a similar Active Phased Array Radar system to that of the KJ-2000 early warning aircraft of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, Chinese internet users realized that what they were looking at was a totally different aircraft.
As the KJ-500 shown in the photo was clearly marked as a PLA aircraft, the state-run Xinhua news agency stated that this aircraft was designed for China, not Pakistan. After comparing the photo with a model aircraft held by Wang Xiaomo, the chief designer of KJ-2000, in another photo, the Xinhua article pointed to the possibility that this KJ-500 was to become China's next generation in early warning aircraft.
Pakistan had ordered about four ZDK-03 early warning aircraft from China with a contract of no more than US$300 million. Like the KJ-500, its main fuselage is modelled on the Shanxi Y-9 aircraft, however, the design of the active electronically scanned phased array radars in the ZDK-03 aircraft is very different to that of the KJ-2000. Apparently, the KJ-500 is developed to carry the same radar system as the KJ-2000. The aircraft remains surrounded in mystery, as no other details have been released.
