CLASSIFIED
YAOGAN-16 01A
Chinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (JB-8 Triplet) · CASC / PLA
Right now
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Lead satellite of the Yaogan-16 triplet, launched November 2012 as the second generation of China's naval ELINT surveillance formation following the pioneering Yaogan-9 group. Yaogan-16 refined the triangulation geometry and signal processing first demonstrated two years earlier, expanding China's ability to geolocate naval radar and communications emissions across a wider stretch of the Pacific.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 475–886 mi (764–1,426 km)
- Inclination
- 63.4°
- One orbit
- 107.0 minutes13.5 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 39011
- Int’l designator
- 2012-066A
- Launched
- 2012
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
More classified
- YAOGAN-16 01BChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (JB-8 Triplet)
- YAOGAN-16 01CChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (JB-8 Triplet)
- YAOGAN-17 01AChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (JB-8 Triplet)
- YAOGAN-17 01BChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (JB-8 Triplet)
- YAOGAN-17 01CChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (JB-8 Triplet)
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