China extends destroyer strike range with airborne early warning system: CCTV

The Star

2 days ago

China's most powerful destroyer can now strike beyond visual-range targets with pinpoint precision by linking to an airborne early warning system – the same technology used by the Pakistan Air Force in the recent Kashmir conflict – according to state broadcaster CCTV.
On Sunday, CCTV confirmed for the first time that the Type 055 stealth guided-missile destroyer Lhasa could use data links to synchronise with People's Liberation Army's airborne early warning platforms, enabling it to conduct long-range anti-ship and air-defence strikes without relying solely on the ship's radars.
Song Zhongping, a former PLA instructor and military commentator, said this represented a major advance in operational coordination.
'Battlefield data fusion – what we call 'situation connectivity' – means complete interoperability and seamless information sharing across domains,' he said.
CCTV footage showed the Lhasa taking part in a live-fire exercise involving multi-service coordination under the PLA's Northern Theatre Command, firing missiles guided by airborne targeting cues. Shipborne helicopters and sensors fed data into the combat centre for simultaneous sea‑and‑air engagements, the report said.
'We used data links to share battlefield awareness in real time with the early warning aircraft, significantly expanding our detection range,' Wang Mingwei, a senior sergeant on the Lhasa, told CCTV. 'It allows us to identify both air and sea threats far beyond visual range.'
Song said the networked capability mirrored Pakistan's use of the same Chinese technology to shoot down Indian fighters near the disputed Kashmir region.
In that engagement, Pakistan's J-10CE fighter jets fired PL-15E long-range air-to-air missiles which were guided mid-flight by a ZDK-3 airborne warning aircraft using target data relayed from a ground-based HQ-9B air defence system.
This 'A-detect, B-launch, C-guide' strategy, as reported by CCTV shortly after the Kashmir clash, avoided triggering radar alarms on India's French-made Rafale jets and showed how integrated data links reduced dependence on onboard sensors.
'The Pakistani side used a Chinese-style networked strike system that fused ground, air and space-based sensors,' Song said. 'It shows that through full data link integration, platforms don't have to rely solely on their on-board sensors to prosecute engagements effectively – this is modern joint warfare in action.'
Similarly, the Lhasa is equipped with the navy version of the HQ-9B system, which has an estimated range of 260km (161 miles). The US military has long assessed the system as effective against medium- and high-altitude targets but less so against low-flying, sea-skimming missiles such as the American AGM-158C long-range anti-ship missile.
Song said this limitation was being addressed through newly confirmed joint operations. 'Together, they compensate for Earth curvature, providing real-time guidance for intercepting low-altitude targets hundreds of kilometres away before the enemy even knows what's happening.'
He said the same battle data network 'essentially stretches the maximum range of our most lethal weapons, like the YJ-series missiles, to their true limits. With every sensor linked, the PLA can strike first, deep and precisely.'
The system supports advanced missiles, such as the supersonic YJ-18 and hypersonic YJ-21, with ranges stretching from several hundred to more than 1,000km (600 miles). This extended range can only be fully exploited through external targeting support – precisely what the integration with airborne warning systems now provides.
Song also drew comparisons to a US military concept proposed in 2017 which aims to connect sensors and weapons from multiple domains into a dynamic, system-of-systems modular combat network.
'What the PLA has now demonstrated with the Type 055 reflects many principles of mosaic warfare,' he said, referring to using a combination of diverse combat platforms and systems to overwhelm the enemy.
The Lhasa, commissioned in 2021, is the second hull in the Type 055 class and features 112 vertical launch cells, advanced dual-band active electronically scanned array radar and a displacement of around 12,000 tonnes. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST