Shaanxi KJ-200
The KJ-200 is an airborne early warning and control aircraft developed by the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation 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.
Design and development
Development began in 2002 after the United States blocked the sale of the Israeli EL/W-2090 Phalcon radar to China. 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.The primary sensor is a JY-06 active electronically scanned array radar mounted in a "plank" or 'balance beam" housing above the fuselage; the configuration resembles various uses of the Ericsson Erieye radar system.
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.
Operational history
The KJ-200 aircraft entered service with the People's Liberation Army in 2007. Its first official public appearance was at the 2009 Chinese National Day Parade.In February 2017, a US Navy Lockheed P-3 Orion and a KJ-200 inadvertently passed within of each other over the South China Sea.
Variants
;KJ-200: Base variant.;KJ-200A: Modified KJ-200 with revised nose section and new electronics. First observed in December 2016.
;"KJ-200AG": Unofficial designation for KJ-200A with inflight air refueling probe.
;KJ-200H: Modified KJ-200 for PLA Navy.
;KJ-200B: Adds satellite communications and new electronics. First observed in 2016. Entered service in 2023.