China’s Y-20 extends military modernization drive

January 28, 2013 china-defense-mashup.com

2013-01-28 — China successfully tested an indigenously-built freight plane capable of airlifting tanks and combat troops to difficult and inaccessible mountainous areas like its Tibet border with India. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the test took place on Saturday in northwest China.

The transporter, Y-20, puts China in the exclusive club of countries having large air lifters like the United States’ C-17 and Russia’s Il-76. And it also gives a boost to the country’s efforts to use homegrown technology to expand defense capacity. The Y-20 is also likely to cause a cringe in Tokyo and Manila, which are involved in island disputes with China.

This is the second major piece of military hardware that China is showcasing since the recent launch of its first aircraft carrier. The “strategic airlifter” will seriously augment China’s military capabilities, which made several advances since the launch of the direct railway line to Tibet over five years ago.

A western defense website said the Y-20, which can carry 66 tons and soar up to 13,000 meters, is powered by four Russian-built Soloviev D-30KP-2 engines and most of the parts and WS-20 turbofan engines are built in China. The plane took off at around 2:00pm from an airport in Yanliang, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, which borders Tibet, according to CCTV News. The Y-20 program is an important part of China’s “Medium- and Long-Term National Science and Technology Development Program (2006-20)”.

Y-20 is developed by Xian Aircraft Industry, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country’s leading military aircraft maker.