Alright, so I think I've done enough discussion on the idea of unmanned tanker in other threads to continue here.
What I think they need is something that's very stealthy, not overly expensive, can take off and land from EMAL catapult and deliver more fuel than your usual J-15B buddy to buddy refueling. Having J-15 doing all the refueling requires a lot more take off and landing, which takes a toll on its airframe.
What this brings is just greater operational flexibility to support J-36, H-20, naval air wing and CCAs operating far away from China's airspace. Even if you can control the air space 3000 km out, it takes a long time for a YY-20 to get out there. It's more relevant if you have a carrier near by, that it can launch several of these tanker drones that can refuel forward operating aircraft.
USN is developing MQ-25 Stingray for this purpose.
What I think they need is something that's very stealthy, not overly expensive, can take off and land from EMAL catapult and deliver more fuel than your usual J-15B buddy to buddy refueling. Having J-15 doing all the refueling requires a lot more take off and landing, which takes a toll on its airframe.
What this brings is just greater operational flexibility to support J-36, H-20, naval air wing and CCAs operating far away from China's airspace. Even if you can control the air space 3000 km out, it takes a long time for a YY-20 to get out there. It's more relevant if you have a carrier near by, that it can launch several of these tanker drones that can refuel forward operating aircraft.
USN is developing MQ-25 Stingray for this purpose.
... can anyone help to find the missing ones!
