From the CCTV screen
AWACS KJ-500 has the high level of modernization than KJ-200, achieved a
full glass cockpit, a liquid crystal display a large area. The crew is
five, namely, the driver, copilot, air mechanic, navigator, messenger.
In fact, with the improvement of the modernization level, only two
people who are driving together operate the aircraft.
However, the mode of operation of the aircraft is still the steering
wheel operation, and there is no advanced telex operating system, and
further improvements in space are limited.
From abroad similar models, the internal core cabin should be a number
of vertical layout of the integrated display console, all types of
operators at least more than ten, and its advanced level is the world's
leading level. KJ-500 is currently the best performance of
China air equipment, the highest price of the AWACS, the performance of
active phased array radar equipment more than KJ-2000
radar.
KJ-500 aircraft platform still using Y-9 transport aircraft plane. The maximum takeoff weight of 77 tons, with 4 turboprop engines, a
cruising speed of 550 km/hour, due to the installation of a radar
system, the flight speed of the resistance increases, some of the
decline, but this is not a fatal flaw for early warning machine.
For
the carrier platform, the most important is the endurance time, the
longer the natural time is the better. The load of Y-9 volume reached
more than 20 tons, a range of 5000 kilometers or more, so its life time
is expected to more than 10 hours longer than about KJ-2000.
However, if the aircraft can be replaced with jet transport aircraft,
especially jet aircraft, the comprehensive performance of the warning
aircraft will be significantly improved. At the same time, disk type
active phased array radar cover can provide 360 degree corner detection
coverage, but the large radar is located in the fuselage above the cover
of air resistance is very large, the flight performance of the aircraft
and flight safety will have a great impact. Therefore, the future
development direction of AWACS is the use of conformal phased array
radar radome and fuselage.

Y-9 on the KJ-200 AWACS