Aircraft
Y-20 AEW and Tanker Variants To Appear Soon
The successful introduction into service of the Xian Y-20 heavy transport has freed China from reliance on the Il-76 airframe for fighter support aircraft.
The Y-20 is broadly equivalent to the Boeing C-17 airlifter. Here one is seen at Wuhan offloading supplies. (Photo: China Military)
The Y-20 is broadly equivalent to the Boeing C-17 airlifter. Here one is seen at Wuhan offloading supplies. (Photo: China Military)

China is expected to publicly unveil the tanker variant of the Xian Y-20 military transport aircraft soon, while an airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) version is in development. The commander of an air force aviation regiment of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command, Teng Hui, confirmed to Chinese state media the existence of the two variants and that the public will see the tanker version in the “not too distant future.”


In this article