Asia Defense | Security | East Asia

China’s ‘Special Mission’ Aircraft Boom

The Chinese military is fielding an increasingly broad range of “special mission” aircraft, which have advanced in both quantity and quality over the past decade.

A KJ-500 AEW&C aircraft at the Zhuhai Airshow in Zhuhai, China, 2016.

In early June, pictures of a never-before seen Chinese airborne early-warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft type (likely GX-19; still unknown designation) circulated on the Chinese internet, attracting interest in the rapid development of new and improved special mission aircraft in China. 

Earlier, in December 2025, blurry images of a new Chinese special mission aircraft, provisionally designated as the Y-9PT (GaoXin-18), which resembled the famous American AC-130J Spectre gunship, were revealed for the first time. Further pictures of the aircraft taking to the air for the first time were circulated in May 2026, demonstrating a clear progress in the type’s test and development program. 

Back in April 2025, pictures of a multirole electronic warfare (EW) platform, the Y-9GR were circulated for the first time with further images unveiled from the type’s test flight program. 

These are but three recent examples that illustrate the steady pace of new crewed special mission aircraft revealed to the public over the last few years.

Less glamorous than fighter jets, these special mission aircraft are a less well understood area of Chinese military modernization. Nevertheless, these force multipliers have thoroughly transformed the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in the last 10 years, providing the air force with network-centric airborne early-warning and control nodes, offensive electronic warfare capability, and numerous intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) enablers to establish a high level of situational awareness and understanding together with other joint assets. 

The introduction of various special mission aircraft have also helped to address many of the PLA’s long-standing capability gaps, including airborne early-warning and control capacity, which has been increased by six to eight-fold over the last decade, building of a robust airborne ISR capability, which covers all aspects of signals intelligence (electronic and communications intelligence) and imagery intelligence, and a growing fleet of airborne antisubmarine warfare capability. 

In 2019, China began mass-production of multiple diverse types of special mission aircraft, surpassing the capabilities of its neighbors by a widening margin. China’s special mission aircraft are rapidly closing the gap with the U.S. Air Force and its ageing ISR fleet both in quantity and quality.

Furthermore, China has strongly emphasized two specific areas. While the KJ-500 has become a true workhorse of the PLAAF and the  People’s Liberation Army Navy – Air Force (PLAN-AF), China is introducing two distinct new Y-9-based AEW&C aircraft, while it is also developing a larger, turbofan-engine-powered, Y-20-based KJ-3000 (a replacement for the KJ-2000) while introducing the carrier-borne KJ-600 into service simultaneously.

The PLA has become one of the largest operators of AEW&C platforms, behind only the U.S., and certainly possesses the most modern and diverse fleet anywhere. Additionally, the PLAAF has begun introducing into service the highly advanced KJ-700 and the unique dual-airframe, very high-altitude WZ-9 airborne early-warning aircraft, thought to be capable of detecting low-observable aircraft at gear distances.

The second area of specific emphasis has been electronic warfare. In a unique Chinese way, the PLA has fielded multiple types to fit the role. In 2021 and 2024, China unveiled to the public two dedicated electronic attack aircraft based on the popular J-16 multirole fighter and the twin-seat J-15 for the PLAAF and the PLAN-AF respectively, with the latter capable of operating from all three of China’s aircraft carriers. Unlike their turboprop-powered contemporaries, the fighter-derivative J-16D and J-15D can keep up with a strike group and accompany strike aircraft to and from target, much like how the U.S. EA-18G Growler is employed.

For the GaoXin-series, China has introduced several new EW aircraft based on the trusted Y-9 platform. These include the multipurpose Y-9DZ, which has become a common-sight in Japanese and Taiwanese ADIZs since 2023, the Y-9JB electronic intelligence aircraft, the Y-9G theatre suppression aircraft, which entered service in 2019 and will replace the venerable Y-8G. In August 2024, China unveiled the Y-9LG during the platform’s surprise participation in that year’s Sino-Thai Falcon Strike 2024 air exercise. Additionally, in April 2024, another platform associated with EW seen for the first time, the Y-9GR.

These aircraft offer the PLA with unprecedented EW capability and growing capacity to collect, analyze, and disseminate intelligence from the electromagnetic spectrum, piece together adversary’s electronic order of battle, geolocate emitting “threat” systems, and devise electronic attacks to disrupts and degrade adversary’s situational understanding.

Moreover, all special mission aircraft introduced since the early 2010s........

© The Diplomat