China's Y-9Q ASW aircraft confirmed in PLA Navy service

This infographic shows China's Y-9-based Y-8Q and the new Y-9Q maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. (Janes/Japan Ministry of Defense)

China's second-generation Shaanxi Y-9Q maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft is confirmed to have entered People's Liberation Army (PLA) service after a Japanese military aircraft photographed the platform conducting a sortie over the East China Sea.

Japan's Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on 30 March that a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) aircraft photographed the Y-9Q as it conducted multiple race-track pattern flights over the East China Sea on the afternoon of 28 March. An MoD map of the aircraft's flightpath published on 30 March indicates that the sortie took place partly within Japan's Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

While the MoD noted previous PLAN maritime operations by Y-9 aircraft in the region, it said the aircraft observed on 28 March featured a different-shaped nose compared with the first-generation Y-8Q ASW aircraft. “This is the first time the Self-Defense Forces have confirmed and announced such an aircraft,” the MoD said.

The Y-9Q is based on the Shaanxi Y-9 transport aircraft and represents an evolution of the Y-8Q ASW platform, which entered PLA service in 2015.

Whereas the Y-8Q is assessed to house a weather radar in the nose and a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in the chin position, the Y-9Q features an elongated nose and lacks the chin sensor. The nose of the Y-9Q likely integrates an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar with a ground moving target indication (GMTI)/SAR capability.

Imagery released by the Japan MoD shows the Y-9Q in official PLAN livery and markings, with the number ‘71' painted near the nose. The aircraft did not display serial numbers that would enable identification of its assigned unit.