China’s AEW&C fleet grows

China is adding new airborne radar planes, with open-source imagery showing its KJ-3000 program moving beyond a single prototype. (flightglobal.com) Airborne early warning and control aircraft are flying radar and command posts: they scan for aircraft and missiles, then pass targets to fighters and ships. China already fields large numbers of KJ-500 turboprop aircraft, and FlightGlobal said the new buildout now includes progress on heavier KJ-3000 models. (boeing.com) (flightglobal.com) Janes reported in June 2025 that KJ-3000 prototype 7821 had been conducting flight tests since late 2024. Open-source reporting in March 2026 pointed to a second prototype, suggesting the program has moved into a broader test phase. (janes.com) (defencesecurityasia.com) The KJ-3000 appears to use the Y-20 heavy transport as its base airframe, giving it more space, power and endurance than the Y-9-based KJ-500. That points to a plane built to stay aloft longer and manage more sensors and operators at once. (twz.com) (janes.com) China’s fleet growth is not limited to land-based aircraft. Asian Military Review reported in January 2026 that the carrier-capable KJ-600 had entered service, giving the People’s Liberation Army Navy a fixed-wing radar aircraft for catapult-launched carriers. (asianmilitaryreview.com) That expansion comes as China modernizes the rest of the network these aircraft support. Janes said in November 2025 that the KJ-600 was likely to deploy aboard the carrier Fujian, alongside newer naval fighters shown in Beijing’s September 2025 flypast. (janes.com) The scale is already substantial. Asian Military Review, citing the 2025 edition of The Military Balance, said China had more than 40 KJ-500s in the air force and more than 20 in naval service. (asianmilitaryreview.com) (iiss.org) The debate is whether bigger radar planes can survive close to a modern fight. FlightGlobal said long-range missiles and stealthier threats have raised doubts about sending large, high-value aircraft into heavily contested airspace, even as militaries still rely on them to stitch together the wider picture. (flightglobal.com) The same argument is shaping U.S. planning. Boeing markets the E-7 as a battle-management aircraft for future threats, while U.S. defense reporting has noted concerns that large surveillance aircraft remain vulnerable targets despite their value. (boeing.com) (globalsecurity.org) China’s answer, at least for now, is not to shrink the mission but to field more aircraft for more roles: KJ-500s on land, KJ-600s at sea, and KJ-3000s at the high end. The question FlightGlobal raises is no longer whether Beijing wants a larger airborne warning fleet, but how far from the front those aircraft will have to fly. (flightglobal.com)