1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. KJ2000 at 2014 Zhuhai Air Show: Danny Yu· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The Shaanxi KJ-2000 (Chinese: 空警-2000; pinyin: Kōngjǐng Liǎngqiān; lit. 'Airwarning-2000', NATO reporting name: Mainring) is a Chinese second-generation airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation, and is the first AEW&C system in service to the People's Liberation Army Air Force. It is built upon a modified Russian Ilyushin Il-76 airframe using domestically designed avionics and a fixed radome featuring three active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars each covering a 120-degree sector, unlike the rotating radome on the comparable E-3 Sentry serving the United States Air Force.
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 23 years ago, in 2003.
- Top speed is 6.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 29 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Range of 5,500 km: 31× Amsterdam to Brussels.
jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 2003
- status
- still flying
- number built
- 5
- role
- airborne early warning and control
- origin
- 🇨🇳 People's Republic of China
- makers
- Ilyushin
- engines
- jet
- max take-off weight
- 175 t
- top speed
- 850 km/h
- range
- 5,500 km
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1042505, Wikipedia: Shaanxi KJ-2000 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.