KongJing-2000
| KongJing-2000 | |
|---|---|
 KJ-2000 |
|
| Type: | Early warning aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
November 11, 2003 |
| Number of pieces: |
4th |
KongJing-2000 (short: KJ-2000 , Chinese 空 警 -2000 , NATO code name Mainring ) is a Chinese early warning aircraft (AWACS) based on the Russian Ilyushin Il-76 . It is the first of its kind to be deployed by the People 's Liberation Army of China.
prehistory
China has been developing early warning aircraft since the 1960s. A first attempt was the end of 1969 started Project 926 , in which an unused as a test aircraft Tu-4 - bomber with a radar type 843 was equipped in Rumpfrückenradom. The system known as KongJing-1 (KJ-1) was tested in the early 1970s, but the project was discontinued in 1971 due to a lack of success.
A second attempt was made in the mid-1980s. To this end, negotiations were started with the Soviet Union for the delivery of the Il-76 transporter , which was to serve as the base model. Contact was made with Great Britain and Israel for the delivery of a suitable radar system. GEC-Marconi suggested the Argus-2000 , Elta Electronics the EL / M-2075 "Phalcon" . Both systems should be installed in bubble-shaped panels on the fuselage, with the Phalcon the Il-76 should also have two sensors on the side. China finally opted for the Israeli variant. From 1992 to 1994 negotiations were held - now with Russia - to convert four Il-76MDs in Israel to the A-50I . However, the radar should be installed in a radome on the fuselage. The contract for a billion dollars was signed in May 1997th However, after an arms embargo was imposed on the country based on China's political development since 1989 , the Chinese AWACS program failed due to resistance from the USA, which threatened Israel with the withdrawal of military aid worth US $ 20 billion, whereupon this withdrew from the project. The first Il-76MD, the conversion of which had been carried out in Israel since October 1999 and was almost complete, had to be dismantled.
Development and use
After the failure of the A-50I program, the Chinese government commissioned institutes 603 in Xi'an (within XAC ) and 14 in Nanjing to develop possible uses of the domestic Type-88 radar system for the Il-76. Russia, whose contract still provided for the delivery of four Il-76MDs, transferred the first machine to China in 2002. In December of the same year, the conversion of the machine, now known as the KJ-2000 , began. It is similar to the A-50, but it is relatively easy to distinguish it by the lack of horizontal stabilizers on the landing gear fairings and the two noticeable false keels at the stern. The radome is larger than that of the A-50. The Type-88 system is said to have AESA properties in the frequency range from 1200 to 1400 MHz with an effective search range of 470 km.
The KJ-2000 began its flight tests on November 11, 2003 and was then subjected to detailed tests in Yangling (Xi'an Province), and later also in Dingxin (Nanjing Province). In 2005 the tests were finished and the aircraft was put into service by the Chinese Air Force. The three remaining Il-76MDs had also been delivered to Xi'an Aircraft and modified by then. All KJ-2000s have been flying since December 2007 at the 26th special division stationed in Wuxi-Shuofang in southeast China, including monitoring the Taiwan Strait .
In 2005, a further contract for the delivery of Il-76 was signed between Russia and China, whereby it can be assumed that some of these aircraft are also to be converted to KJ-2000. For unknown reasons, this agreement was not implemented at least until 2010.
Users
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People's Republic of China : Chinese Air Force - four in service
literature
- Andreas Rupprecht: AWACS in Chinese. Early warning programs beyond the Great Wall (= FLiEGERREVUE . No. 1 ). 2010.
