Thread by @KesariDhwaj

[Peoples Liberation Army Air Force]
- Information, news, and analysis related to all PLA Air Force.

(Visual Guide to Special Purpose Aircraft of China)
- PLA Air Force (PLAAF) & PLA Navy (PLAN) have a variety of Special Purpose Aircraft (SPA).
- These are used across EW, ESM, AEW&C, AWACS, ELINT, SIGINT, Maritime Patrol, Phycological Warfare, Propaganda and Command & Control
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- Baseline aircraft for most of these SPA is Y-8
- Y-8 (Pic-1) = Chinese unlicensed copy of Soviet An-12 transport aircraft (Pic-2)
- 03 categories of Y-8:
a. Category-1: Standard Y-8
b. C-2: Solid Nose (Pic-3)
c. C-3: Modified fuselage, new nose (Pic-4)

1. Y-8CB (ELINT/ESM/EW)
2. Y-8DZ (Improved version of Y-8CB with rectangular antennae on sides)
3. Y-8JB (In use with PLAN and similar to Y-8CB but with enlarged chin)

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4. Y-8Q (Pic-1&2)(Maritime Patrol Aircraft, considered to be Chinese counter-part of US P-3C 'Orion')
5. Y-8G (Pic-2&3) (Long range ECM aircraft with stand-off jamming)

6. Y-8T (Pic-1&2) ( Airborne Command Post)
7. Y-8XZ (Pic-3&4) ( Psychological Warfare)

8. Y-8J (Pic1) (AEW aircraft with British 'Skymaster' radar mounted in the enlarged radome. Used by PLAN)
9. KJ-200/Y-8W - AEW&C [Pic-02(old version) & Pic-03 (new version with modified nose)]
10. Y-8P/ZDK-03 (AEW&C version for PAF. Mechanically rotating PESA disc) (Pic-04)

11. Y-8JZ - Advanced ELNIT aircraft. Latest development in series of ELINT A/C.

- Image credits are given in the pictures themselves.
- Others pictures have been sourced from internet.
------To be continued----