>Homegrown air transport marks ‘crucial step’ in projection of power
>China’s largest ever military aircraft entered service on Wednesday, a hulking transport capable of sending troops and tanks around the world at a moment’s notice.
>The Y-20 Kunpeng, nicknamed “chubby girl”, arrives at a time when Beijing is plotting a new global mission for its 2m-strong People’s Liberation Army, from peacekeeping in Africa to anti-piracy in the Indian Ocean.
>The aircraft, which is equipped with Russian engines, has a cargo capacity of 66 tonnes, making it the world’s largest military transport currently in production.
>The Y-20 “marks a crucial step for the air force improving its strategic power projection capability,” Shen Jinke, PLA Air Force spokesman, told state news agency Xinhua.
>Experts say the Y-20 bears a marked resemblance to the US Boeing C-17 transport, which has not been produced since last year. It can carry a single Type 99 tank, China’s most advanced, which weighs about 50 tonnes, along with troops and other equipment. It has a maximum range of 7,800km partially loaded — roughly the distance between Beijing and Cairo.
>Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert, said about a dozen of the aircraft would be operating within the next year or two, and eventually 200-300 would be produced. The Y-20 will gradually replace the fleet of Chinese Y-8 and Russian Ilyushin 76 cargo aircraft, the current workhorses of China’s military airlift capacity.
Noah Edwards
>The Y-20 makes China only the third nation in the world to design and build its own transport aircraft, along with Russia and the US.
>The Russian-Ukrainian Antonov-124 Ruslan is officially the world’s largest transport aircraft, with a payload nearly twice that of the Y-20 but it is out of production and work on upgrading the existing fleet has been frozen since 2014 due to tensions between Moscow and Kiev, according to press reports.
>The rollout of the Y-20 takes place amid a rethink of military strategy by China, which sees itself gradually taking on missions farther from its borders. In November China announced the establishment of its first foreign military base, in Djibouti, as a hub to resupply the more than 2,000 Chinese troops taking part in African peacekeeping operations as well as Chinese anti-piracy patrols in the Indian Ocean.
>A new counter-terrorism law adopted by Beijing this year allows China to station troops abroad for the first time to participate in counter-terrorism operations.
>Last year China’s defence ministry released a white paper on strategy that emphasised the evolution of the country’s security needs away from simple territorial defence towards an offensive capacity overseas.
So, aside from the US and Russia, China is the only country to make their own transport craft. It uses Russian engines for now, though.
China ground invasion of ISIS when?
Ryan Price
>those black lines behind the engines Have the Chinese ever made something that doesn't pollute so fucking much?
Joseph Richardson
They are Russian engines, my man.
But still, no.
Dominic Butler
It looks just like a C-17
Literally just like it. Except for the chink flag on the tail.
Oliver Adams
...
Carter Bailey
Indeed. Though the Russian ones don't look super different either.
The C17 nose is less pointy.
Noah Garcia
The only noticeable difference is the nose of the aircraft, Jesus Christ do the Chinese even try anymore?
Jason Moore
Cheap C-17 knock off
Fuck China copies literally everything
Jayden Ortiz
Why spend billions doing the research work when you can just hack suckers like Obama for it?
Jonathan Jones
No.
William Robinson
The Chinese just hack into the US and steal everything, include military designs. This is not the first time they've done it.
However it does make this:
>>The Y-20 makes China only the third nation in the world to design and build its own transport aircraft, along with Russia and the US.
a lie, since they didn't really design it.
Parker Wilson
>“chubby girl” Maybe she'll make a good match for all those guys out there who identify as attack helicopters.
Noah Stewart
This. If you survive the Chinese safety standards, surely this vehicle is an easier target than others in its class?
Cooper Roberts
I wonder if it a original Chinese design
Xavier Wood
>referring to all chubby girls as Y-20
Sweet
Hunter Johnson
>tfw no homely han qt who can take me places >she breaks down sometimes because of insecurities over her weight >a little bit of in-n-out cheers her up every time
Joshua Wood
Who care about stupid aircraft. It look like american woman.
All the news here is nothing but 胖妞 胖妞 胖妞! Fuck off!
Tyler Perry
How dare China assumes the plane identifies as a girl. I'm triggered and offended by this disgusting sexism.
Jonathan Allen
>It look like american woman
I think your country's lack of women in general might be the reason for that.
Grayson Campbell
>I wonder if it a original Chinese design They actually bought the design for the aircraft from Lane Bryant.
Luis Morgan
>China steals another design because they lack any unique engineering or creativity Chinese Knockoff isn't just a meme and this proves it yet again.
Gabriel Cooper
>china builds military plane capable of sending troops and tanks around the world at a moment’s notice Whats on the other side of the world that they would want to send their military too? kinda makes you think
