- It was rumored in July 2026 that a manned strategic supersonic reconnaissance aircraft might be under development at the 601 Institute/SAC. The aircraft appears in the same class of American SR-71. It features twin-engine and double-delta wings. The fuselage and the two tail fins are optimized for both high-speed cruising and stealth. The engine is speculated to be TBCC and the aircraft could fly up to Mach 4.
- A new type of Y-8C radar/electronic testbed was spotted in August 2026 over Shannxi. Similar to the Tu-204C radar/electronic testbed, the aircraft features a solid nose housing a radar and two short swept wings attached to the lower fuselage. An integrated CNI system might have been embedded inside the leading edges. Two samll vertical plates are attached to the horizontal tail fins to improve the stability. It is possible that those systems onboard are being developed for future UCAVs.
Y-9GR High New 17
An image first disclosed in April 2025 suggested that a new electronic jamming aircraft (Y-9GR/High New 17?) was being developed by SAC. It features a stretched nose cone housing a large EW antenna. Two additional oval/cylindrical shaped EW antennas protrude from both sides of the lower fuselage near the nose landing gear. All three antennas are thought to be part of a new long-range standoff electronic jamming (SOJ) system. The rear fuselage appears similar to that of Y-9Z, equipped with various ELINT, ESM and SATCOM antennas. Y-9GR is expected to replace the old Y-8G.
Y-9PT High New 18
A blurry image first disclosed in December 2025 suggested that a possible gunship variant based on the Y-9 transport (Y-9PT? High New 18?) might have been under developement at SAC. The aircraft features an enlarged nose cone housing a multi-function search radar, an EO turret underneath the nose for all-weather flights, four box shaped ESM/ECM antennas underneath the forward fuselage and the tail, two DIRCM turrets on both sides of the rear fuselage against IR-guided missiles, a SATCOM antenna on top of the rear fuselage. The most powerful weapon carried by Y-9PT is a large caliber cannon with a long barrel inside a moveable (?) round gun turret underneath the mid-fuselage. A second EO turret is located in front of the barrel for targeting purposes. In addition, two pylons are installed under the outer wings for carrying multiple AGMs or loitering munitions. Y-9PT is expected to fly CAS missions similar to American AC-130J.
--Last Updated 5/20/26
Y-9DG High New 19
This new electronic jamming aircraft was first disclosed in June 2026 with the exact designation still unknown (Y-9DG/High New 19?). It appears to bear some resemblences to both Y-9G communication jamming aircraft and KJ-500 AWACS. Y-9DG features Y-9G style large rectangular side-looking ECM antennas on the forward fuselage, KJ-500 style bar shaped ELINT antennas on the rear fuselage, KJ-500 style rotodome on its back containing two or three AESA antennas 120° apart, and Y-9G style plate antennas attached to the vertical tail fin. Additional antennas can be found in the nose cone/tail cone, underneath the chin and forward fuselage, and on top of the vertical tail fin. A new type of turprop engine (WJ-10?) might have been installed to generate adequate electricity for the equipment onboard. Similar to Y-9LG, which adopts the balance beam AESA technology from KJ-200, Y-9DG adopts the rotodome/trangular AESA array technology from KJ-500 for the jamming purpose. Y-9DG is expected to fly long range electronic jamming missions against enemy radar and communication systems. There are also speculations that Y-9DG possesses some degrees of AEW capability (as KJ-900?) but this has not been confirmed.
--Last Updated 6/6/26