Four KJ-3000 airborne early warning and control aircraft have been spotted at the Chinese aircraft manufacturer Xi’an Aircraft Company. This may indicate preparations for serial production of this type of aircraft.
This was reported by The War Zone.
Satellite images from Vantor dated 5 October captured three KJ-3000 aircraft near the production buildings of Xi’an Aircraft Company at the Xi’an–Yanliang aviation manufacturing complex. A fourth aircraft was spotted on the grounds of the nearby Chinese Flight Test Establishment.
The KJ-3000, also referred to as the KJ-20, is being developed on the basis of the Y-20B heavy transport aircraft. It is powered by four Chinese-made WS-20 turbofan engines.
Unlike its predecessor, the KJ-2000, which was based on the Russian Il-76MD transport aircraft, the new aircraft uses a Chinese-developed platform.
The first blurry photographs of the KJ-3000 appeared in the public domain in late December 2024. In May 2025, more detailed images were released of the test aircraft with the tail number 7821. At the time, it was reported that the prototype had been undergoing flight tests since late 2024.
The KJ-3000 features a large circular radar radome above the fuselage which, according to available assessments, conceals a rotating antenna system.
The older KJ-2000 uses three fixed active electronically scanned array antennas housed inside the radome.