They can let the US test it, the Chinese cargo fleet is young and in need of more aircraft now. Better not to throw too much money on something that can presently become a dead end. They are testing it with subscale test plane already in China I think.
China's transport, tanker & heavy lift aircraft
- Thread starter Totoro
- Start date
Quite surprisingly, four #PLAAF YY-20A tanker-transports landed at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX).
(Image via @太湖军I名 from Weibo and @geekdong on Twitter)
PS:
(Image via @太湖军I名 from Weibo and @geekdong on Twitter)
PS:
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right, so must be at least 10 YY-20As by now. I wonder what ever happened to all those Y-20Bs we see in satellite photos of XAC. Are they just not joining service or have they already joined, we just don't know about it
I count like 30 in this image.Quite a few Y-20s parked on the tarmac.
How many Y-20A, Y-20B, and YY-20s are in service?
From the Chinese Aviation Industry thread.
One more, viewed from the side.
Looks like it's really time for China to develop a KC-130-equivalent based on the Y-9's airframe. Would be very useful for search-and-rescue, anti-submarine warfare and/or early warning missions in the WestPac, whereby PLAN helicopters can rely upon them to extend their mission radius and mission duration.
A display of various helicopter subsystems at the Tianjin Helicopter Expo. The systems/components on display include an aerial refueling probe, nose-mounted weather/terrain radar, EO turret, cockpit displays, sonobuoy dispenser, electric winch, various search & rescue equipment, radar warning receiver, directional infrared countermeasures, etc.
One more, viewed from the side.
Looks like it's really time for China to develop a KC-130-equivalent based on the Y-9's airframe. Would be very useful for search-and-rescue, anti-submarine warfare and/or early warning missions in the WestPac, whereby PLAN helicopters can rely upon them to extend their mission radius and mission duration.
