BEIJING – The Chinese military is building its first carrier-basedearly-warning plane capable of tracking stealth aircraft like the US’ F-22sand F-35s used by services worldwide.
The People’s Liberation Navy is overseeing the construction of the aircraftmilitary commentators are calling the KJ-600, which will feature anadvanced electronically scanned area radar (AESA), according to a SouthChina Morning Post report.
“AESA can detect stealth fighters at a very long range,” military expert LiJie told the South China Morning Post.[image: A U.S. F-22 Raptor performs during the Dubai Air Show, United ArabEmirates, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017.]
The announcement coincides with increasing deployments of F-35s and F-22sin areas close to China, such as Japan and South Korea. Both US allies havepurchased F-35A jets from Lockheed Martin and may be considering procuringthe F-35B for at-sea aviation operations.
The plane resembles Northrop Grumman’s E-2 Hawkeye: a prop-driven,all-weather, carrier-capable early warning aircraft in service since the1960s.
Maritime security expert Collin Koh of Nanyang Technological Universityin Singapore said that China’s KJ-600 may prove the veracity of beliefsabout China’s ambitions to build a blue-water navy capable of operating farfrom Chinese shores.[image: Liaoning, China’s only aircraft carrier (File)]
“If China’s carrier group is designed more to operate closer to homewaters, it would rely on shore-based early warning support. With [earlywarning planes], it implies that the People’s Liberation Army-Navy carrierbattle group is designed for distant sea operation,” Koh told SCMP.
Beijing plans to operate four carrier groups by 2030. The country’sLiaoning carrier, the only carrier in service with the PLA-N, is amodernized old Soviet-built Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier. China isbuilding three more carriers at domestic shipyards, with the first makingits maiden sea voyage last April.