CLASSIFIED
YAOGAN-30 08C
Chinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (Yaogan-30 Triplet) · CASC / PLA
Right now
LiveIt moves every second. See exactly where it is — worked out from its orbit, on your own device — on the live 3D globe.
- Over
- —
- Altitude
- —
- Speed
- —
A member of one of the later Yaogan-30 ELINT triplet groups, launched in 2020 as China continued rapid expansion of its naval surveillance constellation. By 2020, China had deployed multiple Yaogan-30 triplets in different orbital planes, creating a constellation that could sweep the western Pacific several times daily. The -W designation indicates the third satellite of its particular triplet group. After deployment, the Yaogan-30 triplets have been observed separating to 120° spacing around their shared orbital plane — a configuration that sacrifices ELINT triangulation precision in favor of three times more frequent coverage of any given ocean area. The operational question they pose to US naval planners: can a carrier strike group maintain radio silence long enough to be tactically relevant?
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 350–356 mi (563–573 km)
- Inclination
- 35.0°
- One orbit
- 95.9 minutes15.0 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 46809
- Int’l designator
- 2020-076C
- Launched
- 2020
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
More classified
- YAOGAN-30 09AChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (Yaogan-30 Triplet)
- YAOGAN-30 09BChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (Yaogan-30 Triplet)
- YAOGAN-30 09CChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (Yaogan-30 Triplet)
- YAOGAN-30 10AChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (Yaogan-30 Triplet)
- YAOGAN-30 10BChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (Yaogan-30 Triplet)
- YAOGAN-30 10CChinese ELINT Naval Surveillance (Yaogan-30 Triplet)