Shaanxi KJ-200
airborne early warning and control aircraft
The Shaanxi KJ-200 (NATO reporting name: Moth), also known as the Shaanxi GX-5, is an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation of China. It is based on the Shaanxi Y-8 military transport aircraft.
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, 80% of the Y-8 was modified to create the KJ-200.
The primary sensor is a JY-06 active electronically scanned array (AESA) 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 1,000 feet (300 meters) of each other over the South China Sea.
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