China’s Massive Y-20 Jet Conducts First Airborne Operation; World’s Largest Military Aircraft a Major Asset to PLA

China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has announced that its colossal new Y-20 transport aircraft has conducted its first combat operation since its induction into active service in July 2016. PLA spokesman Shen JInke announced the operation in the context of ensuring the Air Force’s "strategic capability should be in line with the constantly expanding national interests so it can carry out diverse military missions.” The operation involved airdrop training with the country’s paratroopers, a vital capability for the PLA to conduct offensive operations and capture territory in the even of war which have only recently begun to see major developments. While less prolific than operations carried out by the Air Force's latest combat aircraft, such as China’s first stealth fighter the Chengdu J-20 which has continued to grab headlines even since its induction into service in early 2017, the Y-20’s operation marked a significant milestone in the modernisation of the PLA’s capabilities.

Weighing well over 200,000kg when loaded and designed with a 45 meter wingspan, the Y-20 is the largest military aircraft in the world eclipsing its U.S. counterpart the Boeing C-17 as well as the Russian Il-76. The platform was developed largely based on technologies acquired from Soviet successor states following the USSR’s disintegration, particularly Ukraine which produced heavy lift Ilyushin aircraft. The PLA has since added a number of indigenous technologies, and is set to reduce its reliance on technologies imported from abroad, a trend seen throughout the military as its technological base reaches parity with those of the United States and Russia. The Soviet D-30KP turbofan engines powering the Y-20 are set to be replaced with the indigenous WS-20, which is predicted to eclipse the older Soviet design in its capabilities. This mirrors numerous other Chinese combat aircraft such as the J-11 and J-10 fighters which originally relied on the Soviet Saturn AL-31 acquired from Russia, two and one respectively, but came to rely on the more sophisticated indigenous WS-10 as Chinese designs became more capable.