China’s H-6 bomber spotted with a new large jamming pod

A Chinese H-6KG bomber has been seen carrying what appears to be a new large electronic jamming pod that closely resembles the pods carried by the J-16D, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s dedicated electronic warfare jet, military aviation analyst Andreas Rupprecht reported on Oct. 25.

Rupprecht, who closely tracks Chinese military aircraft, said the pod looks almost identical to the RKZ930-22 or RKZ930-32 jamming pods used on the J-16D, but has a differently shaped nose section, and he did not say where or when the aircraft was photographed. China has not commented on the new configuration, and it is not known whether the pod is in operational use or still being tested.

“Apparently the H-6KG is now using a new large jammer pod … looks almost like one the J-16D pods, namely the RKZ-930-22 or -32 albeit with a different front,” wrote Andreas Rupprecht.

The H-6KG belongs to the H-6K family, the most modern version of China’s H-6 bomber, a much-modernized descendant of the Soviet Tu-16 that entered service in 2011 with new Russian D-30KP2 turbofan engines, upgraded electronics and the ability to carry long-range cruise missiles under its wings. Fitting a powerful jamming pod would let the bomber blind or confuse enemy radars on its own while it approaches a target, instead of relying entirely on escorting electronic warfare aircraft.

The RKZ930 series is a family of jamming pods developed for the J-16D, a two-seat Flanker-derived jet that China first showed publicly at the Zhuhai Airshow in September 2021 and that is often compared to the U.S. Navy’s EA-18G Growler. The J-16D has been seen carrying several versions of the pods, marked RKZ930-10, -22, -31 and -32, each with a distinct shape, which analysts believe allows them to cover different radar frequency bands, an approach similar to the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Jammer.

This would not be the first time China has hung jamming pods on its H-6 fleet. In late 2017, Chinese state television showed PLA Navy H-6G bombers, an older variant of the aircraft, converted to carry electronic countermeasure pods under their wings after nearly a decade of modifications, and the PLA has also flown JH-7 fighter-bombers with similar pods.