Zhuhai 2014: Defense Technology Banquet

A large-scale model of the Shenyang J-31 (called FC-31 at the show) drew crowds. Differences from the flying prototype included sweptback vertical stabilizers and chevron-edged exhaust nozzles. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

An “advanced fighter cockpit” mock-up next to the J-31 included a helmet-mounted display system. The bumps on the helmet, which would house light-emitting diodes, suggest that Shenyang favors an optical head-movement tracking system. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

China’s homegrown Guizhou WS-13, codenamed Taihang, made a return appearance. Intended to replace Russian engines on Chinese-built versions of the Sukhoi family and on the Chengdu J-10, the 26,500-31,000-lb.-thrust engine has a composite bypass duct, a feature otherwise unique to some General Electric F404 variants. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

Norinco’s GB-6 500-kg.-class guided, gliding dispenser can be armed with either runway-breaker warheads or fuel-air explosive munitions. It uses GPS/INS guidance. It was displayed on an operational Xian JH-7 attack fighter and alongside a Pakistan air force Chengdu FC-17. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

The CS/BBC5 is related to the G-6, It is a 500-kg unitary glide bomb and was displayed next to an H-6M bomber: The external design is similar to the GB-6, except there are six rather than four tail surfaces. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

New from Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (Nriet), China’s leading producer of ground-based radars, is the YLC-8B UHF-band active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for air defense. It has an instantaneous field of view of ±45 deg. in azimuth and 0-75 deg. in elevation, and has a range of 250 km. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

A potential competitor for the YLC-8B is the JY-26 from East China Research Institute of Electronic Engineering (Ecriee), part of the China Electronics Technology Corp. (CTEC). It is also a UHF AESA, with an unusual dimpled array that most likely comprises individual radomes covering the transmit/receive module antennas. UHF can improve performance against conventionally stealthy targets. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

Introduced into People’s Liberation Army service in 2007, but previously classified, this is an element of the Nriet YLC-20 passive radar system. The basic system includes three omnidirectional antennas to provide time-difference-of-arrival location of airborne or other emitters, but this is a dual-band, narrow-field-of-view receiver. According to Nriet, it can detect signals from over the horizon and scattered radar signals from a target, allowing a monostatic radar to function as a bistatic system. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

The appearance of the Norinco LD-2000 seven-barrel 30-mm Gatling gun in the People’s Liberation Army exhibit area confirmed that it is operational. The PLA uses it in combination with the HQ-6 missile system and a command-and-communications vehicle. Like the U.S. Raytheon Centurion, it is based on a shipboard close-in weapon system. Brochures have shown it deployed to defend high-value ground assets from air attack, by engaging precision-guided munitions. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

Norinco also showed the Sky Dragon 12 short-range air defense system for the first time. The command-to-line-of-sight weapon resembles Russia’s KBM Pantsyr, firing two-stage booster-and-dart missiles and mounted on a single vehicle with search and guidance radars. There is also an electro-optical backup guidance system. The system carries 12 ready missiles and has a range up to 12 km and maximum altitude of 5 km. One difference from Pantsyr is that it is missile-only and designed to be integrated with separate gun systems. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

New from China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp. (Casic) is the B611MR semi-ballistic, surface-launched, anti-radar missile. With a very similar body to the M20 tactical ballistic missile, the B611MR uses GPS-inertial guidance combined with a wideband passive radar homing head (inset) and is capable of flying on a flattened trajectory and performing pre-programmed maneuvers to reduce the chance of interception. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST

A truck-mobile small-satellite launcher has been tested twice by Casic. The new FT-1 has been designed alongside a small satellite platform as a “space emergency response system.” It has three solid-fuel stages and a restartable liquid-fuel upper stage, which allows one rocket to launch several smallsats if the user requires it. It can loft 300 kg into an equatorial orbit and 250 kg into a Sun-synchronous orbit. The complete vehicle measures about 20 meters long and is carried on an extended-length semi-trailer with full-length upper doors. Credit: Bill Sweetman/AW&ST