SOURCE: AFI
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF), recently offered the Chinese KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft by China, appears to be gravitating toward the Swedish Saab GlobalEye AEW&C platform, installed on the Bombardier Global 6000/6500 long-range business jet. This shift in interest comes despite China’s broader defense package, which includes the KJ-500, J-35A stealth fighters, and HQ-19 air defense systems, announced on June 6, 2025.
The PAF’s preference for the GlobalEye, a more advanced successor to the Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C it currently operates, is driven by its positive experience with Swedish technology, the poor performance of retired Chinese ZDK-03 AEW&C platforms, and the recent losses of two Saab 2000 Erieye aircraft during India’s Operation Sindoor in May 2025. This article explores the PAF’s strategic pivot, the technical advantages of the GlobalEye, and the implications for Pakistan’s air defense capabilities.
The PAF currently operates a fleet of nine Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C aircraft, equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar providing 270-degree coverage and a 450-km detection range. These platforms, based on the Saab 2000 regional turboprop airliner, have been a cornerstone of Pakistan’s airborne surveillance and command-and-control capabilities since their induction in 2009. However, the fleet suffered significant setbacks during India’s Operation Sindoor, launched May 7–10, 2025, in response to a Pakistan-backed terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. One Saab 2000 Erieye was shot down by an Indian S-400 air defense system near Dinga in Pakistan’s Punjab province, over 350 km inside Pakistani airspace, while another was destroyed on the ground by a BrahMos missile strike at Bholari Air Base near Karachi, as confirmed by retired PAF Air Marshal Masood Akhtar.
These losses, reducing the PAF’s Erieye fleet to seven, exposed vulnerabilities in its AEW&C capabilities, particularly the Saab 2000’s slow speed (maximum cruise 629 km/h, patrol 296 km/h) and limited endurance (9.5 hours). The turboprop platform’s vulnerability to long-range surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) like the S-400, which can engage targets at 400 km, was evident when the PAF’s attempt to shield its AWACS among commercial air traffic failed. Additionally, the PAF’s earlier experience with the Chinese ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle AEW&C, based on the Y-8F-600 airframe, was marred by subpar radar performance, mechanical failures, and high maintenance demands, leading to their premature retirement in 2024 after just seven to eight years of service.
The KJ-500, developed by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation and based on the Y-9 airframe, is a third-generation AEW&C platform designed to enhance situational awareness and command capabilities. It features a fixed dorsal radome with three AESA radar arrays for 360-degree coverage, improved avionics, and enhanced data-link capabilities for network-centric warfare. Compared to the ZDK-03, the KJ-500 offers upgraded mission systems and a more efficient radar design, eliminating the rotating dome. It is powered by four WJ-6C turboprop engines, reverse-engineered from the Soviet-era Ivchenko AI-20, and can detect fighter-sized targets at ranges up to 470 km, serving as an airborne command center for coordinating assets like J-10C, JF-17, and J-35A fighters.
Despite these advancements, the KJ-500 shares the Y-9’s lineage with the Soviet-era Antonov An-12, raising concerns about its reliability. The PAF’s experience with the ZDK-03, which suffered from similar propulsion and airframe issues, has fostered skepticism about Chinese platforms. Analysts question whether the KJ-500’s electronics can overcome the limitations of its dated airframe and engines, especially in high-tempo operations against India’s advanced air defenses, including the S-400, Akash, and Barak-8 systems. Reports on X and defense analyses suggest the KJ-500 is seen as a stop-gap measure to replenish the PAF’s AEW&C fleet, but its operational effectiveness is doubted compared to Western alternatives.
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