PLAAF unveils YY-20 air-to-air tanker aircraft
A screengrab from a PLAAF video showing a YY-20 refuelling a pair of J-16s over the ocean east of China. (Chinese MND)
China's air force confirms it is operating the tanker variant of the Y-20, as the nation expands the reach of its military aircraft.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has revealed the designation of its tanker variant of the Y-20 transport aircraft, the YY-20.
Commentators had previously christened the aircraft as Y-20U, but YY-20 (representing ‘tanker-transport’) has now been revealed as the official designation. The YY-20 has two refuelling pods on its outer wings and one more on the rear fuselage for hose and drogue fuelling missions.
This nomenclature was disclosed during a PLAAF press conference in Beijing on 31 July.
Snr Col Shen Jinke, a PLAAF spokesperson, said a YY-20 tanker aircraft and J-16 fighter had recently carried out over-water aerial
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
More from Air Warfare
-
![Poland confirms US$3.8 billion F-16V upgrade]()
Poland confirms US$3.8 billion F-16V upgrade
The Mid-Life Upgrade agreement comes as Poland makes significant increases in its defence spend as its plans to increase it to 5% of GDP by 2026.
-
![How unconventional warfare demands are changing the CUAS and drone development landscape]()
How unconventional warfare demands are changing the CUAS and drone development landscape
The use of drones in unconventional ways is accelerating technological advances and countermeasures as military planners try to stay ahead of the drone revolution in military affairs.
-
![Applied Intuition takes aim at major air combat programmes with UK expansion]()
Applied Intuition takes aim at major air combat programmes with UK expansion
The autonomous software company’s new UK subsidiary is the latest in a line of businesses poised to expand and offer its services to the UK Ministry of Defence and industry, as the country invests more in AI and autonomous technology to deliver the next generation of uncrewed systems.
-
![British Army seeks ACP to pair with Apache AH-64E helicopter]()
British Army seeks ACP to pair with Apache AH-64E helicopter
The event notice to find this ACP solution will see a series of workshops run to assess problems sets for the wider Land Autonomous Collaborative Platform (LACP) programme.
