Y-9DZ Electronic Warfare Aircraft

About Y-9DZ Electronic Warfare Aircraft:

• The Y-9DZ is China’s newly developed electronic warfare version of the Y-9 aircraft.
• It is a medium-range, medium-sized tactical transport aircraft manufactured by the Shaanxi Aircraft Company.
• The Y-9DZ was initially spotted in 2017, and China officially unveiled this aircraft in 2019, along with another electronic warfare variant known as the Y-9G.
• The Y-9DZ variant is the most advanced intelligence-gathering aircraft developed by China. 
• This aircraft is capable of flying various special missions, including electronic intelligence, communication jamming, psychological operations missions and even surveillance missions during search and rescue operations.
• Features:
  • It features state-of-the-art sensors and communication systems.
  • The Y-9DZ boasts two large rectangular-shaped ESM/ELINT (Electronic Support Measures and Electronic Intelligence) antennas on each side of the rear fuselage and a range of other antennas strategically placed throughout the aircraft. 
  • An oval dish-shaped ESM antenna is positioned atop the vertical fin, while a SATCOM antenna sits on the mid-fuselage. 
  • Presence of pipe-shaped antennas on the fuselage side suggests their purpose may be related to PSYOP operations (psychological operations). 

 

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Q1) What is electronic-warfare?

Electronic Warfare (EW) represents the ability to use the electromagnetic spectrum—signals such as radio, infrared, or radar—to sense, protect, and communicate. At the same time, EW can disrupt, deny and degrade the adversaries' ability to use these signals.

Source: Japan intercepts Chinas’s Y-9DZ electronic-warfare aircraft over Pacific Ocean