KRIS OSBORN
Surveillance at sea beyond the horizon, if properly networked, can not only save lives in maritime warfare by “seeing” threats at greater stand-off ranges, enabling more time for defenses, countermeasures or counterattack, but also conduct offensive targeting and attack missions to “find,” “verify,” and “destroy” otherwise unreachable enemy targets.
This is the Concept of Operation informing the US Navy’s continued maturation and deployment of its famous carrier-launched E-2D Hawkeye. While the Hawkeye has for years functioned as an early warning surveillance plane engineered to “detect” and “see” potential threats, in more recent years the US Navy has leveraged technological advances to evolve the E-2D into a flying command and control node as well. In a tactical sense, this means the surveillance aircraft can increasingly network with fighter jets, surface ships, drones and even satellites in near real time with an ability to gather, process and disseminate time-sensitive high-value combat data.
China CopyCat
In recent years, the People’s Liberation Army - Navy and Air Force have been maturing similar “Hawkeye-like” surveillance and warning planes such as the KJ-200 and KJ-500 aircraft. These efforts indicate a somewhat transparent or observable PLA effort to simply “replicate” “copy” or recreate the successful US Navy E-2D Hawkeye. Certainly PLA efforts to replicate or “hijack” US platforms and technologies is a well-known and long-standing source of concern for Pentagon and Congressional weapons developers, yet in more recent years the PRC appear to also be copying us tactics, strategies and doctrinal approaches regarding how best to integrate, apply and deploy emerging technologies.
Perhaps with an eye upon the US Navy Hawkeye, The People’s Liberation Army -Navy is integrating its new, fast emerging KJ-600 surveillance plane variant capable of “networking” closely and quickly with fighter jets. This initiative seems to closely mirror or “copycat” ongoing successful US efforts to achieve multi-domain, multi-platform joint connectivity, data transmission and targeting. The PLA recently demonstrated its KJ-600 in war preparation drills with its J-15 carrier-launched fighter jet, according to a recently published essay in the Chinese-government-backed Global Times newspaper.
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