Chinese Yak 44 AW&C Program

[Kane]

I ran across this image and was very puzzled considering this aircraft was supposed to have never flown, nor have i found any record of this aircraft being in PLAAF service. It makes sense though. Looks like Chinas newly bought aircraft carrier will have ELINT capabilities after all.

 

[Kane]

i have an image of a airborne yak 44 AWACS flying PLAAF markings but cant seem to get it to load to the website. help would be appriciated.
thx

 

[Matej]

You need to have 2 or three posts to be able to attach images. Now you have three, so try again.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Don't bother posting it here, its a fake ;D

Serious though, I'm pretty sure its not real.

 

[Kane]

At first i thought it was a fake too. but i did a little digging into the records of the Varyag (the kuznetsov class aircraft carrier) and i found that the Yak 44 was to be deployed first on her decks. it is also important to note that every design that has not been a PLA r and D program has been based at least to some extent on a Soviet project, both before and after the Sino Soviet split. the most recent of these examples being Chinas A-50 clone the KJ-2000. This AWACS project was kept under complete secrecy much like the refit of the Varyag, and every other advanced Chinese project to date. It is also important to remember that China would probably much rather revive a nearly complete soviet project than to spend billions making their own carrier based AW&C aircraft. Plus for the longest time it was thought the PLAN did not even have any involvement in the purchase of the Varyag until it ended up painted in PLAN grey in a military dry dock. All im saying is its completely feasable and deserves for someone to take a closer look at considering the Chinese colorful past of secrecy.

 

[TAKHISS]

Maybe use this.

Z-8 AEW

 

[TAKHISS]

There was also plan to use SU-80

 

[TAKHISS]

Interesting. A little technical correction here: this was S-80 — not Su- for Sukhoi but S- for Simonov. Sukhoi model numbers are not allocated to all the designs, only those that get to the production stage.

THX，It's S-80.

An old pic show that,PLAN's AEW aircraft should be a modular utility aircraft. Body can be replaced for different purposes.

 

[Kane]

The engines on the aircraft in the picture are almost identical to the D-27 propfan used on both the AN-70 and the yak-44. the tail is also a dead giveaway of the Yak heritage being split to accomodate the doppler radar installed above it. my connection speed is slow but i will keep trying to post the picture the best i can.

 

[kaiserbill]

Any luck yet, Kane?

 

[Deino]

It is - as said by overscan - just a faked CG !!