China unveils the development of a new large military transport aircraft the Y-20 3012121

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World Air Force News - China
 
 
China unveils the development of a new large military transport aircraft the Y-20.
 
China is developing Y-20 large transport aircraft to meet its military modernization drive, a Ministry of Defense spokesman said Thursday, December 27, 2012. "We are developing large transport aircraft on our own to improve the capability of air transport," spokesman Yang Yujun said at a monthly news briefing held days after photos of a Y-20 appeared online.
     
China is developing Y-20 large transport aircraft to meet its military modernization drive, a Ministry of Defense spokesman said Thursday, December 27, 2012. "We are developing large transport aircraft on our own to improve the capability of air transport," spokesman Yang Yujun said at a monthly news briefing held days after photos of a Y-20 appeared online.
Scale model of Y-20 new Chinese military transport aircraft
     

The advanced long-range carrier is being developed to serve the military modernization drive, as well as to meet demands in disaster relief work and humanitarian aid in emergency situations, he added.

The spokesman did not say when the Y-20s will be fitted out in force, only saying "the research and development of the large transport aircraft is going forward as planned."

There will be a series of steps before the carriers are fitted out, "as the technology is complicated," he added.

The Xian Y-20 is a large military transport aircraft. It is being developed by Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation for the Chinese PLAAF. The Y-20 prototype is powered by four Russian D30 series turbofan engines and the production aircraft will sport the WS-20 engines.

It was reported the Y-20 is undergoing ground testing starting from December 2012, including runway taxi tests