China Debuts J-15D Electronic Warfare Fighter Jet, Will India Finally Fast-Track its Su-30MKI EW Program?

The unveiling of the J-15D electronic warfare (EW) fighter jet at the Zhuhai Airshow 2024 has sent ripples through the defence community, highlighting China's growing emphasis on electronic dominance in modern warfare.

Developed from the J-15 carrier-based fighter, the J-15D signifies a significant leap in the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) EW capabilities, potentially prompting India to accelerate its own stalled EW programs.

The J-15D, developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, is designed to provide critical EW support, including jamming enemy radars and disrupting communications, thereby enhancing the survivability and effectiveness of strike missions.

Its debut comes close on the heels of the J-15T multirole fighter, showcasing China's rapid progress in naval aviation technology. This advancement puts the PLAN's EW capabilities closer to those of the U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler, a dedicated electronic attack aircraft.

In contrast, India's pursuit of a similar platform, dubbed the "Desi Growler," has faced significant delays. While the Indian Air Force (IAF) has long recognized the need for a dedicated EW aircraft, particularly to counter advanced air defenses, progress on developing an EW variant of the Su-30MKI has been slow.

Discussions between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the IAF have yet to translate into concrete action, hampered by a lack of consensus and funding prioritization.

Experts believe that an EW-capable Su-30MKI could significantly bolster the IAF's offensive capabilities. Equipped with advanced EW systems, the aircraft could effectively neutralize enemy radar and communication networks, providing crucial support to strike formations in contested airspace. Furthermore, developing an indigenous EW platform would reduce India's reliance on foreign systems and contribute to its strategic autonomy.

The J-15D's debut serves as a stark reminder of the widening gap in EW capabilities between the PLAN and the IAF. Without a dedicated EW escort platform, the effectiveness of Indian strike packages in high-threat environments remains limited. As electronic warfare becomes increasingly crucial in modern air combat, the need for India to expedite its EW modernization efforts has become more urgent.

The development of the "Desi Growler" holds the potential to bridge this capability gap and ensure India maintains a credible airpower advantage in the region. However, this will require a concerted effort from policymakers, defence scientists, and the aviation industry to overcome bureaucratic hurdles and prioritize resource allocation. The J-15D's appearance at Zhuhai should serve as a wake-up call for India to accelerate its pursuit of indigenous EW capabilities and maintain its edge in the evolving landscape of modern air warfare.

 

[sanket]

Thats the advantage compared to western platform, where Mirage-2000 costly upgrade was burnt Fingers unlike Su-30 MKI platform can b modified according to IAF needs such a open Architecture & Autonomy is allowed.

 

[Ayyadurai Namasivayam]

We can even ask usa to supply ew pods carried by growler .

 

[Kadam]

Its very much a doable system with the help of Israeli AESA scorpius jammers. No body will give us cutting edge jammers like israel, they will be too happy. There is a standoff version of the scorpius jammer thats state of the art. I dont believe that india has the capability to make jammers as good as israel.They are the world leaders, america learns from them some times. we have made a high end jammer for the Su-30mki as well.

The su 30 mki is perfect for that. There are technological hurldes that are there.

1. Having enough elec power from the engine generators to power these jammers
2. building a system of systems wherin the whole frequency band is covered ie High medium and low. These cover the whole gammut of air to air , air to surface, awacs , dtalinks between aircraft and ground.
3. the most important less known problem is RFI radio frequency mutual interference between various jammers. even though the freq of the jammers close by are different, the receiver of another band will be jammed by side bands of the transmitting jammer. Isolation of thes elements are crucial.
4. building a computer system software and hardware that displays all frequencies and automatically jamming selected ones has to be built . Like a command and control function.

 

[PARTHAJIT JANA]

I am not sure if any planners are there in IAF. Russia offered us Su 57 almost a and half decades back. After few years IAF refused to accept. We have wasted around 300 millions. Now after almost 15 years we don't have any stealth fighter. Same is true about TEDBF. Navy wants, IAF do not want but going after foreign fighters.