CLASSIFIED

YAOGAN-9 01A

Chinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (JB-8 Founding Triplet) · CASC / PLA

Lead satellite of the Yaogan-9 triplet, launched March 2010 — the first-ever Chinese naval ocean surveillance satellite formation and the direct predecessor to the later, more numerous Yaogan-25 and Yaogan-30 ELINT triplet families. Flying in a tight three-satellite formation, Yaogan-9's group uses time-difference-of-arrival signal processing to triangulate the location of ships broadcasting radar or radio signals across the Pacific — the founding demonstration of a naval surveillance technique China has since proliferated across five additional triplet generations.