In the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War, the new PLAN was left in command of a large number of ships, although many of them were outdated and limited in their usefulness. It soon became obvious that to counter the ROCN the PLAN would need a sizable fleet of aircraft, capable of long range patrols and shipping strikes. For the latter role the PLAN was able to build a considerable fleet of locally constructed H-5 bombers, but the patrol role proved more difficult.
The USSR supplied a number of Ilyushin Il-14 MR aircraft, but the PLANAF needed more aircraft and needed them to be capable of longer range operations. One suggestion was to adapt the small fleet of Tupolev Tu-4 Bull bombers for this role, in a similar way that the USN had done with the B-29 Superfortress.
After an extended experimentation and testing program, 6 Tu-4s were finally adapted for the long range patrol role in 1974, fitted with detection equipment in various forms, as well as receiving AI-20K turboprop engines. Designated the KJ-2 by the PLANAF, they served through the 1970s and 1980s, until retired in 1991.
For coastal operations the PLANAF realised it needed a replacement for the IL-14 MR and looked to the locally built Xian Y-7, a variant of the Antonov An-24. The initial variant, designated the Y-7Q, was equipped with search radar, a MAD boom, observation windows and underwing hardpoints to carry torpedoes and light bombs. 40 aircraft were ordered, serving with 3 patrol units (12 aircraft per unit) plus 4 “spare” aircraft. Deliveries began in 1985, lasting through until 1990.
A program to enhance the Y-7Q’s capabilities was begun in the late 1990s, with a desire to integrate an anti-shipping missile capability. One of the original “spare” aircraft was used for the program, which saw a newer, more powerful, targeting radar system installed in a larger nose radome. Two C-801 missiles could be carried by the aircraft, carried on fuselage mounted launch pylons. Eventually the PLANAF decided that for missile strikes, the JH-7 fighter bombers and H-6 bombers were more suitable platforms, so the enhanced Y-7Q was not ordered. The trial aircraft was stripped of its missile armament, but retained the radar systems, and was issued as a replacement to a PLANAF patrol unit.
