Chinese carrier-borne AEW&C testbed - Xian KJ-600

[mkellytx]

Or maybe very similar requirements end up driving very similar solutions…. It isn’t as if carrier borne AEW aircraft have a pretty unique set of requirements. Nothing wrong with using a configuration that you know already works because it’s been flying for over 50 years. Now if the structural design under the skin is the same…

Similar requirements is how you get the Yak-44. But the KJ-600 is way closer than that. It's clearly designed to closely model the E-2C, just tweaked in a few places.

The Yak is more of a roughly similar requirements, with the key requirements difference of STOBAR vs CTOBAR which led to a similar configuration but bigger A/C with bigger engines. It’s not much of a surprise that the KJ is similarly sized and configured given it is also CTOBAR with cat lengths and arrester lengths pretty close to US ones. Since the physics is the same I’m not surprised to see the size and shape to be so close, especially since they both fill the same mission. If what’s under the skin is the same then I’ll lean more towards a direct copy.

 

[Deino]

Confirmed behind/at the EMALS catapult at Huangdicun