The “Gaoxin 5” project is an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft equipped with a linear-shape active electronically steered array (AESA) radar similar to the Swedish Ericsson PS-890 Erieye. The development programme possibly began in the late 1990s, with a prototype based on the Y-8F200 airframe first flying in November 2001. A second prototype based on the newer Y-8F600 airframe first flew in January 2005, but was lost during an air crash on 4 June 2006.
In October 2004, a Y-8F200 turboprop transport aircraft was spotted undergoing modification to be fitted with a linear-shape ESA-type airborne early warning radar at Shaanxi. Later it was revealed that the AEW&C aircraft programme had been in development since the late 1990s, in parallel with the KJ-2000/A-50I AWACS development project at Xi’an Aircraft Corporation (XAC). With the larger, more sophisticated KJ-2000 performing long-range, comprehensive aerial patrolling and control roles, the smaller KJ-200/Y-8 AEW can provide a less expensive platform for tactical AEW and electronic intelligence roles.
The KJ-200 AEW system is based on the Y-8F600 platform, which is also known as “Category-III Platform”. (The Category-I and -II platforms refer to the non-pressurised basic variant Y-8 and pressurised Y-8C respectively) The aircraft is fitted with Western avionics for improved performance. The development of the airframe has been carried out jointly by Shaanxi Aircraft Industry (Group) Co. and the Antonov Design Bureau of Ukraine. Improvements on Y-8F600 include:
* A two-man cockpit fitted with modernised avionics including U.S. Honeywell navigation system
* Removal of the ‘glass-in’ nose to provide additional space for mission equipment
* Four Pratt and Whitney Canada PW150B turboprop engines with British Dodi R-408 six-blade propellers
* Increased take-off weight and range
* Mission equipment pods on wingtips, vertical fin tip and nose
Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday 4 June 2006 that a military plane carrying 40 people was lost in the eastern province of Anhui and no survivor was found. The accident happened at about 16:00 Beijing Time (08:00 GMT) on Saturday near the village of Yaocun, in Guangde county. The plane's body hit bamboo forest and its tail fell in fields. Chinese president Hu Jintao has expressed deep condolences over the loss of lives and ordered a full investigation into the cause of the accident.
Although the report did not reveal the detailed model of the plane or the identities of the people onboard, it was later revealed that the plane was in fact the only example of the Y-8F600-based KJ-200 AEW&C aircraft. The aircraft was undergoing system testing when the accident happened. The 40 personnel onboard were from the PLAAF and Nanjing-based 14th Electronic Institute, which was responsible for the development of the ESA radar and avionics systems. The accident also caused a major setback in the KJ-200/”Gaoxin 5” project due to the lost of test data and key personnel involved in the project.
