Transport aircraft are the "giants" of the aircraft family, with high transport speeds, high carrying capacity, and greater size and take-off weight. Among them, range is crucial for transport aircraft, and longer range means a wider range of maneuvers. So, how many kilometers is the range of the Yun 20? According to public information, the Y-20 has a range of more than 7,800 kilometers and a full load range of 4,400 kilometers. In addition, there is another question that everyone is very concerned about, what is the difference between a military transport plane like the Y-20 and the civil airliner we usually take?
Y-20 is a large domestic military transport aircraft, codenamed Kunpeng, with a maximum take-off weight of more than 200 tons and a maximum load of more than 66 tons, affectionately known as "Fat Girl", which made its first successful flight on January 26, 2013 and officially entered service on June 15, 2016. At present, the production equipment is Y-20A, using 4 Russian-made D-30KP-2 turbofan engines and domestic imitation turbofan-18 engines. The improved Y-20B has begun to equip the troops in batches, and the Y-20B uses a domestic turbofan-20 (WS-20) large bypass than turbofan engine, which has greater thrust and is more fuel-efficient. For Middle Eastern countries, they have a demand for large military transport aircraft, and the Y-20 will be more competitive. Because the American C-17A "Globemaster III" transport aircraft has been discontinued, the Russian Il-476 has a carrying capacity of only 60 tons, and the key is that the annual production is only in single digits. The European Airbus A400M transport aircraft is not only expensive, but also has poor capacity, with a maximum load of only 37 tons. Therefore, among the current competitors in the same weight class, there is no one who can wrestle with Yun-20B.
The Y-20 military transport aircraft is very different from ordinary civil airliners in terms of take-off and landing conditions and performance. First of all, civil airliners, especially large passenger aircraft, are basically about 3,000 meters of flat runways. The military transport aircraft Y-20 has a strong demand for field take-off and landing, which can be used on simple dirt runways and even sandy roads, and requires that the shorter the take-off and landing distance, the better.
In addition, the landing speed of the Y-20 is generally about 300 kilometers per hour, and under wartime conditions, the landing speed of the aircraft will be higher, the 200-ton large-scale Y-20, the speed of 300 kilometers per hour landing, and the braking system has to withstand more than 2000 degrees of friction and high temperature, which is why we will often see reports of passenger aircraft braking systems. However, the Y-20 is equipped with a thrust reverser, which can not only adjust its position by itself, but also directly "reverse into storage" to accurately park the aircraft in place, and the thrust reverser can also help the huge aircraft slow down when landing, first use the thrust reverser to slow down, and then start the brake when the speed is not high, and the aircraft without the thrust reverser can only wait for the ground staff to drive the trailer to assist.
In addition to delivering armored vehicles, tanks, armed vehicles, assault vehicles, command vehicles and other equipment to the front-line battlefield and undertaking the responsibilities of strategic transportation and campaign delivery, the Y-20 can also be used as an early warning aircraft, a refueling aircraft and an electronic reconnaissance aircraft. In addition, there is no essential difference between a transport aircraft and a long-range bomber, and with a slight modification it can become a massive bomber group.
At the "Air Power 2022" air show, the largest air show in Europe held every three years, our Y-20 is the largest aircraft and can be said to "stand out from the crowd". The U.S. B-52H strategic bomber, which has a maximum take-off weight of more than 200 tons, also flew over the air show, but did not land, and flew away after a few turns in the air, which is also the first time that the Y-20 is in the same frame as the U.S. bomber. In fact, as early as 2021, during the Sino-Russian joint cruise, China sent 16 large transport planes, including the Y-20, to depart from the South China Sea with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers, approaching the Strait of Malacca near Singapore, which also shows that our long-range bombing capabilities can cover a range of 2,000 kilometers. When bombing the enemy with the maximum bomb load, the Y-20 can complete the strategic bombing mission with a radius of at least 3,500 kilometers.
China is currently developing the AEF3500 turbofan engine with a take-off thrust of up to 35 tons, and with a suitable power system, we can also develop our own giant transport aircraft, and the strategic projection capability of the Chinese Air Force will also reach a new height. February** Dynamic Incentive Program