Spotted: A new KJ‑700 AWAC sporting four side‑looking airborne radars (SLAR).

China’s AWAC fleet has been expanding fast enough that even the public domain can barely keep up, and now we’ve got another one to add to the collection. The KJ‑700 program first surfaced last year with a pair of SLARs — AESA panels mounted behind each wing. The latest variant spotted online now carries four SLAR arrays, with two additional panels mounted ahead of the wings.

In other words: the KJ‑700 just went from “interesting” to “okay, now they’re getting serious.”

Given all the recent speculation about the PLA using AWACS to cue extra‑long‑range AAMs (PL-15. PL-17) deep into the battlespace, adding more airborne early‑warning platforms makes sense. The technology is clearly mature, the Y‑9 airframe is rolling off the line in healthy numbers, and China has shown it can scale these systems the way the BYD scaled EVs; quietly, steadily, and relentlessly.

Meanwhile, some critics still insist on evaluating air combat through fighter spec sheets, arguing about “4.5‑gen plus‑plus‑plus” like it’s 2007. But numbers matter, and recent conflicts have made that painfully obvious. A fighter is only as good as the sensor network feeding it, and China is building that network one turboprop at a time.

Napoleon said the troops you have, ready and present, matter more than the larger force that isn’t there. The same applies to AWACS: the platform you can actually put in the sky today beats the hypothetical stealth super‑AWAC someone might import tomorrow. And China, for better or worse, is putting them in the sky.

 

Monday, September 15, 2025

What Was Left Out of China's September 3rd Military Parade: KJ-3000 AEW&C

A newly surfaced photo on the Chinese internet, dated yesterday (September 14), shows the continued flight testing of the "7821" airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. 

The KJ-3000 remains in its prototype phase and has not yet entered active service. As with the official policy, only operational platforms are eligible to participate in military parades, excluding experimental or pre-production models such as the KJ-3000.

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Y-20 AEW&C Aircraft (w/KJ-3000 Airborne Radar)

 Back in Dec 2023,  Chinese military circles started to discuss a new AEW&C Aircraft based on the Y-20 transport platform (link)  and (link).  Considering that China is experienced in integrating Russian IL-76 with its own phased array radar (PAR) by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation since early 2000, upgrading both radar and the aircraft with Y-20 seems to be a straightforward next step.

Of course, a photo released in January 9, 2024 (see below) by AVIC, featuring youthful designers and a fairly large model of the new AEW&C, adding credibility to the ongoing discussion.

 

Photos fro Dec 27th 2024

 

 

and now this, May 28, 2025

Saturday, October 03, 2009

KJ-2000 AWAC's Radar, An Inside Look.

Saturday, September 20, 2025

KJ500A AWAC on display

 At the current Changchun Airshow

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Photo of the day: PL-17 Beyond-visual-range missile mounted on J-11BG

Ha — PL‑15 is practically vintage at this point, so 2025. The new PL‑17 BVRAAM, the follow‑on to the PL‑15 that grabbed international headlines on May 7th, 2025, is now moving into the integration phase. And it’s not just for the shiny new J‑16s and J‑20s, the PLA is already retrofitting it onto older airframes like the J‑11, which says a lot about how central this missile is becoming to their long‑range air‑combat doctrine.

 

 

Sunday, February 22, 2026

PLAAF J-11B to J-11BG

 

A J‑11B equipped with an AESA radar and capable of carrying the advanced PL‑10 and PL‑15 air‑to‑air missiles. See Central China TV capture below

The J‑11B was the first PLAAF Flanker variant to feature fully Chinese‑developed avionics, weapon systems, and engines. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, it formed the backbone of China’s air combat fleet, long before the J‑10, J‑16, and J‑20 entered service in significant numbers.

Even today, although the J‑11B is no longer the headline platform of the PLAAF, nearly 300 aircraft (including both J‑11A and J‑11B variants) remain in service. Upgrading these airframes to the J‑11BG standard central on AEDA radar appears to be a straightforward and logical decision for PLAAF leadership.

The PLA’s long‑standing approach to foreign military procurement is consistent: acquire systems from abroad, absorb the technology, and ultimately transition to fully indigenous solutions, one way or another.

 

 J-11B front,  J-11BG back

 

Bonus photos of J-11GBH of the PLA Naval Aviation (H=Hai or Ocean) 

 

 

Random muse on heavy armor unit: us vs. them

Watching the recent China–Mongolia joint training exercise, Steppe Partner 2026, where heavy armor charges around like the final episode of "Dunk and Egg,"got me thinking about the latest round of YouTube‑and‑Twitter silliness. You know the drill: “This U.S. Armored Division could/would/should take on that specific PLA combined‑arms brigade(s) on open plains.”  The fantasy‑league tank unit matchups/mock draft.

The problem is baked in from the start. These debates assume the “New U.S. Armored Division” magically appears on some conveniently flat, tank‑friendly patch of near Mongolia China. As if the U.S. has access to Star Trek transporter tucked away as part of their Divisional‑level deployments on how to get there. Through Northern China? Forests and hills. Coastal China? One continuous urban belt. South through Vietnam/Myanmar/Thailand? Jungle. Through India/Pakistan/Afghanistan? Mountains. Central Asia or Russia? Sure, let me know how that diplomatic clearance with Putin goes.
 
Fine, let’s grant the Star Trek transporter. Even then, the whole “open‑field tank unit duel” idea feels dated. One of the largest tank battles in history happened at Kursk back in summer 1943, and funnily enough, there’s a war around that region again. Armor still matters, but FPV drones have a vote now and they tend to win it. The idea of a clean 1:1 or 2:2 or 4:4 tank unit death-match belongs in another era.

All that said, open discussion is half the fun of the internet, and the other half is "you know what" and I’m not above enjoying these sandbox matchups. I’m a fan of the “New U.S. Armored Division vs. three PLA brigades” thought experiments. It’s no different from what the PLA is doing in Mongolia right now, just with fewer logistics and more imagination.

 

Spotted: China’s very own “Curtiss‑Wright XP‑55 Ascender.”

There’s a certain corner of Western commentary that insists China’s design philosophy boils down to: take a single‑engine fighter, make it twin‑engine, and call it a day. Yes, I’m looking at you, F‑35 vs. J‑35 discourse. 

And now, judging from the latest photos circulating on the Chinese internet, it seems the same logic has been lovingly applied to the XP‑55 Ascender. Borrow the concept, double the engines, mission accomplished. I’m telling you…

The original XP‑55’s rear‑mounted pusher engine wasn’t just an eccentric flourish. Moving the propeller behind the pilot gave a clean, wide forward view, and freed up the entire nose for concentrated firepower therefore tighter shot grouping, simpler harmonization, the whole package. Strange design, sure, but hardly a foolish one.

So did China finally dig up something in the archives worth “borrowing”? Maybe. Or maybe it’s coincidence, inspiration, or just engineers entertaining themselves with unconventional layouts.

As always, there’s no way to know for sure right now but it’s definitely entertaining to watch as more details of this program surface.

Outside of this little oddity, it’s been a very quiet day for China‑watchers, the kind of quiet where everything else seems to have "quietly slipped under the water".

 

 

Source of the Curtiss‑Wright XP‑55 Ascender (wiki)

 

Spotted: A 20kW laser system mounted on top of a civilian Dongfeng Mengshi-like 4x4 light tactical vehicle.

Because nothing says “perfectly normal civilian application” like bolting a high‑energy laser onto a truck you can technically register for road use. At first glance, the setup looks almost improvised: a clean Mengshi chassis with a 20 kW laser turret casually perched on top. But the integration is far too tidy to be a one‑off. Everything from the beam director, the EO/IR sensors, the cooling modules is aligned like someone actually intends to use this thing. This isn’t parade fluff. It’s a test bed, and a very mobile one.

A 20 kW laser on a 4×4 light tactical vehicle is a pretty loud statement about where China’s directed‑energy ambitions are headed. These systems used to live on naval decks or big 8×8 trucks rolled out for parades. Seeing one on a Mengshi suggests a shift toward highly mobile counter‑drone and point‑defense units — the kind you can scatter around airfields, logistics hubs, or forward operating bases without much fuss.

It may look like a test bed, but knowing how these things go, if you placed an order today, delivery in three months so they say.

 

Saturday, October 04, 2025

CCTV Report Of The Day: Type 071 LPD 986 四明山/Siming Shan, PLAN's First LY-1 Equipped Warship

Unveiled during the 2025 China Victory Day Parade, the LY-1 high-energy laser weapon has now found its first operational home aboard the Type 071 landing platform dock 986, Siming Shan (四明山), as confirmed by CCTV. The PLA’s push toward directed-energy warfare just got its sea legs