Pakistan Air Force to adopt Chinese airborne warning system

Islamabad Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will induct a Chinese-made airborne early warning and control system, its chief Air Marshal Rao Qamar Sulaiman said yesterday.

The introduction of ZDK-03 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) will bring a "revolution in our air defence operations," he told the state-run news agency in an interview.

Sulaiman attended the eighth China Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the Chinese southern coastal city of Zhuhai, which concluded at the weekend. He also attended a roll-out ceremony in Hanzhong for AEWC designed specifically for Paf.

PAF will acquire four Shaanxi ZDK-03 AEWC planes. Their delivery will start in the first quarter of 2011, the air chief said.

The delivery of other AEWC planes Pakistan is acquiring from Sweden has already started, he said.