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Development History of Chinese Military Circular Connectors (Aviation Plugs)

The development of China's military circular connectors is mainly driven by equipment demands. In the early stage, domestic products and standards were mainly imitated from foreign counterparts. It was not until the establishment of the 211 Electric Contact Laboratory that connectors were formally studied as an independent discipline in China. The development history of Chinese military connectors is divided into three stages: the early founding of China to the 1960s, the 1960s to the 1990s, and the 1990s to the present.

Stage 1: From the Founding of the People's Republic of China to the 1960s

China’s first electric connector manufacturing factory, Shenyang No.117 Factory (now Shenyang Xinghua Aviation Electric Co., Ltd.), was founded in 1957. It mainly manufactured imitations of electric connectors for military aircraft in service at that time, which conformed to Soviet military standards of the 1930s and 1940s. With the development of air and ground weaponry, specialized connector manufacturers for various industrial systems were successively established.

By the late 1960s, mass-produced mainstream series included P, PR, PD, Y2 and Y4 series. Connectors of this period featured heavy weight, large size and slow mating and unmating speed, and are currently only applied to early Soviet-style military equipment. In addition, Cixi Yunhong Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. has maintained long-term and close cooperative relations with Shenyang Xinghua Aviation Electric Co., Ltd.

Stage 2: From the 1960s to the 1990s

After the reform and opening-up, the military industry introduced new technologies and design concepts, driving the full implementation of total quality management for domestic military connectors. The outdated manufacturing philosophy of "picking the best from hundreds" was abandoned, and military connectors were graded in quality, namely the highest Special Grade (G), military Grade (J) and ordinary Grade (M).

Meanwhile, domestic design concepts gradually shifted to American standards. For instance, China’s GJB598 standard is equivalent to the US MIL-C-26482 standard. Products in this stage are characterized by quick mating interfaces, multi-key anti-misplug structure, high protection level, closed contact bodies, crimp-type contacts, small size and medium density, and sealed connectors were also developed in this period.

Representative products include XK and XKE series from Factory 158, YB series from Factory 796, and Y27 push-pull quick-plug series from Factory 693, which are still widely used in military and civilian markets.

Stage 3: From the 1990s to the Present

With MIL-C-38999 becoming an internationally recognized mili