Father of Chinese early warning aircraft Academician Wang Xiaomu

On March 6, 2023, Chinese renowned radar expert, pioneer, and founding figure in the early warning aircraft field, Academician Wang Xiaomu, passed away. This is a name that the Chinese people should not forget. He not only made Chinese early warning aircraft technology the world’s best, but also led it to become globally cutting-edge. What does it mean to be globally cutting-edge? According to Academician Wang Xiaomu, it means that when advanced countries see what China is doing in the field of early warning aircraft, they follow suit. This is what it means to lead the global trend.

The development of Chinese early warning aircraft has been extremely challenging. China began developing early warning aircraft in the late 1960s. Initially, a modified “Kong Jing-1” was planned based on the Soviet Tu-4 bomber platform, but due to technical deficiencies, it failed to enter production. Subsequently, attempts to purchase the Russian A-50 early warning aircraft were unsuccessful due to deliberate obstruction by the United States. Later, China endeavored to independently develop a large early warning aircraft. After years of painstaking efforts, the “Kong Jing” successfully took to the skies in the autumn of 2003, putting an end to the history of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force operating without early warning aircraft.

However, in 2006, during the trial flight of the KJ-200, tragedy struck. Out of the 40 people on board, aside from the 5 test pilots and 1 radioman, the rest were top military-industry experts, including two senior engineers at the level of generals. During the flight, the military aircraft suddenly exploded, prompting the pilot to make an emergency landing. In order to avoid landing in a residential area, the aircraft tragically collided with a mountain peak, breaking into two sections. The wings and the tail of the aircraft fell on one side of the mountain in Xintang Village, while the nose of the aircraft fell on the other side in Tongkai Village.

After an investigation, it was determined that the cause of the accident was due to the early warning aircraft repeatedly crossing into icy areas during flight, leading to a failure of the aircraft’s de-icing system and causing the aircraft to lose control and crash. A group of advanced experts sacrificed their lives, causing the development of Chinese early warning aircraft to stagnate. Fortunately, a group of scientists regained confidence and set out once again! The Chinese early warning aircraft project was able to take off anew. In 2009, the KJ-200 and KJ-2000 soared into the skies, marking the point at which Chinese early warning aircraft technology led the world.

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