ZDK-03 model [Photo/VCG] Designer says few nations are capable of designing, building such aircraft China is a major arms exporter, but its image in the international weapons market has long been linked to old, second-tier products sold at relatively low prices. Domestic defense technology companies have been sparing no effort over the past several years to improve their reputation by promoting modern, advanced products featuring the latest technology. One recent effort is an airborne early-warning and control aircraft described by its designer as world-class and best of its kind. Hu Mingchun, head of the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology in Jiangsu province, said there are only a handful of nations including China, the United States and Israel that can design, build and export such cutting-edge hardware as early-warning planes. And he said the KLC-7 Silk Road Eye developed by his institute is a generation ahead of its rivals in the global market. According to Hu, the KLC-7 integrates a mechanical scanning system with active electronically scanned arrays - two popular radar detection methods - and features the latest digital technology and processing capacity, which is much more robust than previous models. With state-of-the-art electronics, the system boasts better anti-jamming functions, a longer detection range and stronger target-tracking ability and optimized algorithms, he said. It was designed based on our rich experience and expertise, Hu said. All of its core technologies and components were developed on our own. The product represents the latest technologies and is very competitive in the international market. Several nations have expressed strong interest in the KLC-7 and want to open talks with the institute, he said. For our users, the KLC-7 Silk Road Eye is the best solution to their needs because it fits perfectly in sophisticated and rapidly changing combat situations and can detect and track targets from afar, Hu said. The farther you can see in combat, the higher the chance that you will win. Therefore, anyone who uses the Silk Road Eye will be able to extensively magnify the situational awareness and operational capabilities of military forces. The electronics institute in Nanjing, which is part of State-owned defense giant China Electronics Technology Group Corp, is the country's top developer of military surveillance radar. Its products have been sold to more than 20 nations in Africa and Asia, it said. Reports have said it designed and manufactured the radars mounted on ZDK-03 early-warning aircraft that China exported to Pakistan. In a picture released by China Electronics Technology Group Corp, the Silk Road Eye appears similar to the ZDK-03, which means it is also mounted on the Y-9 turboprop transport plane built by Aviation Industry Corp of China. personalized heart braceletrubber band braceletsanimal shaped bracelets rubberswirl silicone braceletswristband custom silicone bracelets
The Long March 5 blasts off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan province, Nov 3, 2016. [Photo by Su Dong for China Daily] Chinese engineers have determined what caused the failure of the second flight of China's largest carrier rocket, a Long March 5, in July and have come up with corrective solutions, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, which oversees the program. The administration said in a statement on Monday on its website that a number of simulations, calculations and ground experiments were carried out and results point to structural abnormalities inside the turbine exhaust device of one of the first stage's liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engines. The abnormalities caused a sudden loss of engine thrust, depriving the rocket of lift, the statement said. So far, engineers have carried out several ground ignition tests on the modified engine and concluded that the changes are effective, it said, adding that a third Long March 5 is under construction and will be launched this year. The statement did not say what that rocket's payload will be. If the third flight goes well, then the rocket's fourth mission will send the nation's Chang'e 5 lunar probe to the moon, the administration said. Scientists and engineers are pinning their hopes on the Long March 5 and its variants because the space industry wants to use them to ferry the first Chinese space station into orbit, as well as send probes to Mars and Jupiter. The July failure affected the country's space agenda as the government had to postpone several key missions, including the Chang'e 5 expedition, which will send a rover to the moon and return with surface samples. China's space launch activities were suspended for nearly three months after the failure. They resumed at the end of September. The strongest and most technologically sophisticated rocket built by China, the Long March 5 has a liftoff weight of 869 metric tons, a maximum payload of 25 tons to a low-Earth orbit, or 14 tons to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Its payload capacity is about 2.5 times greater than any other Chinese rocket. The giant rocket's first flight was in November at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province. Engineers have started assembling the first prototype of the Long March 5B, a variant that will be tasked with lifting the Chinese space station's core module and other parts, the China Manned Space Agency said last month. That rocket is expected to make its first flight around June next year to verify its reliability and capabilities, the agency said.
