Based on reports from early 28 February, 2026, multiple Chinese-made air defense radar systems, including variants of the YLC-8B (often mentioned alongside the YLC-8B series in discussions about “anti-stealth” capabilities), failed to detect U.S. and Israeli aircraft during operations in Iran.
Earlier reports indicate that Chinese-supplied radars (JYL-1, JY-11B, and JY-27) in Venezuela were unable to detect U.S. fighter jets and special operations forces during a, reported, 2026 operation, allowing helicopters to enter Caracas without resistance.
U.S. Navy’s EA-18G Growler repeats the same achievement as it did in Venezuela. According to the U.S. central command, the EA-18G Growler flew from aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln destroyed Chinese-made Type 305A radar, YLC-8B anti-stealth radar, HQ-9B and S-400 missile system fire control radar as well many other radars recently supplied to Iran by Russia and China.
Reports allege that the four Type 305A and two YLC-8B radar systems acquired by Iran failed to function, leaving the country’s air defense system blinded.
Analysis suggests that the failure was due to the inability of the Chinese systems to handle advanced electronic warfare countermeasures used by U.S. forces, resulting a total destruction of the missile system itself by HARM anti-radiation missile.
According to Chinese propaganda, China has delivered advanced YLC-8B 300km-range anti-stealth radars to Iran to counter Western stealth fighters, following, or in anticipation of Middle Eastern conflicts.
These events have led to scrutiny over the combat effectiveness of Chinese-made technology against modern, superior electronic warfare of the American-origin electronic attack aircraft.
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