China's transport, tanker & heavy lift aircraft

Deino

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
Four Y-20s seen at an airfield belonging the Central Military Theater.

49583597438_600e97ac83_o.jpg

Indeed, that's the 13th Transport Division, 37th Air Regiment's home at Kaifeng.

Kaifeng.JPG
 

supercat

Major
Y-20 aircraft tanker's variant to debut soon, AEW variant to follow: Air Force officer

"The Y-20 cargo plane has variants like the Y-20 aerial tanker and Y-20 AEW aircraft. I believe that people will see our Y-20 aerial tanker debut on the battlefield in the not too distant future," Teng Hui, commander of an Air Force aviation regiment of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command and a Y-20 pilot, said on China Central Television on Monday.

The Y-20's chief designer Tang Changhong said several times that there would be variants, and a prototype tanker variant of the Y-20 was spotted on commercial satellite photos by foreign media in 2018. It is widely expected that the tanker variant will work together with and eventually replace the very few imported Il-78 tankers and the domestically developed but less capable HU-6.

When repurposed for aerial refueling, the Y-20 will be able to carry about 90 tons of fuel, similar to the Il-78, and much more than the HU-6's capacity of under 30 tons, reported Ordnance Industry Science Technology, a Xi'an-based periodical on the national defense industry, in 2019.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 

Gatekeeper

Brigadier
Registered Member

The more I look at this, the more I'm Convinced the USA and the West have done China a favour by sanctioning China after 1989. This means China had to develop their own indigenous aircrafts. Necessity is the mother of invention.

If it wasn't for this sanction, China would be relying on western nations for their defence needs. Look at India, Trump's recent annocement of $3billion worth of Apache helicopters should set back their own indigenous helicopter programme!

The sale go ahead despite wide spread violence against their nationality law, and in kasmere. Talk about double standards!

So it is particularly satisfying to see all these Y20 contributing to the relief efforts. And they will be invaluable in days to come, particularly with their new engines!
 
So it is particularly satisfying to see all these Y20 contributing to the relief efforts. And they will be invaluable in days to come, particularly with their new engines!

Agree it is invaluable. I remember US refused to provide parts for China's S-70 helicopter for relief effort in the aftermath of 2008 Sichuan Earthquake where 90,000 died. S-70 was the only Chinese owned helicopter operable in the remote mountains of Sichuan at that time,
 

Gatekeeper

Brigadier
Registered Member
Agree it is invaluable. I remember US refused to provide parts for China's S-70 helicopter for relief effort in the aftermath of 2008 Sichuan Earthquake where 90,000 died. S-70 was the only Chinese owned helicopter operable in the remote mountains of Sichuan at that time,

So much for humanity and "champions" of human rights. Just watch people died because...... Just because..
 

asif iqbal

Lieutenant General
no doubt the 2008 earthquake resulted in China going all out for its rotary and heavy transport

a blessing in disguise
 
Top