On January 10, the well-known South China Morning Post revealed an update on China. China is reportedly actively looking for foreign buyers for the new Y-20 transport aircraft, and behind this ambitious plan is a significant expansion of production capacity by Xifei.
An important factor behind this decision is that the Y-20 has been replaced with a WS-20 engine independently developed by China. This means that the new Y-20B delivered by Xifei to the Chinese Air Force, as well as the Y-20BE model that will be exported, are already equipped with domestic WS-20 engines. This refitting not only improves the performance of the Y-20, but also clears all export barriers, because the Chinese technical team has fully mastered the core technology of the Y-20.
So, can this Y-20BE large transport aircraft have a place in the international military transport aircraft market? The South China Morning Post has revealed the answer in a separate report. The report noted that the Y-20BE shone at the Dubai Airshow in November 2023. At the booth, a large-scale model of the Y-20 attracted many eyeballs, and the display board next to it clearly marked its model "Y-20BE". The "B" here means that the aircraft has been replaced with a Chinese-made WS-20 engine, and the "E" means that this is a foreign trade type.
This not only shows that China has made full preparations for the Y-20 to go abroad, but also shows that China has fully mastered the localization technology of the main components of this transport aircraft. At present, Xifei has delivered more than 100 Y-20s to China, of which in addition to some Y-20A with Russian-made D-30 engines installed in the early stage, the subsequent batches have been replaced with domestic WS-20 engines.
And the Y-20 is playing an increasingly important role in various operations in China. It has gone to South Korea many times to retrieve the remains of volunteers, delivered a large number of materials to the disaster area, delivered first-class equipment to Serbia, participated in various training and transportation missions of the army, and recently successfully transported the Chang'e-6 probe to Hainan. These operations fully demonstrated the excellent performance and powerful capabilities of the Y-20 in carrying out missions.
It can be said that the full operation of the Y-20 has not only greatly enhanced the strength of the Chinese Air Force, but also demonstrated China's advanced technology and strong strength in the field of large military transport aircraft in the world. With the continuous progress of technology and the increase of market demand, we have reason to believe that China's Y-20 large transport aircraft will occupy an important position in the international military transport aircraft market in the future. After a series of verification and practice, there is no doubt that the Y-20 is advanced and mature, which has laid a solid foundation for it to open the door to the Y-20BE in the international market. Pushing the Y-20BE to the international market can not only open a new chapter for China's large transport aircraft to the world, but also an important opportunity for China to deepen strategic cooperation and expand international relations with other countries.
The Y-20BE's strong capacity, long-range endurance and cutting-edge technology give it a wide range of application scenarios. In addition to being a strategic transport aircraft to transport materials for the country, the Y-20BE can also play a huge role in the field of civil transportation, meeting the needs of various long-distance and heavy-duty transportation.
In order to get more attention to the Y-20BE at the Dubai Air Show, CCTV specially reported on the large-scale pulsating production line of Xifei. The opening of this advanced production line not only demonstrates the efficient and fast production capacity of XAC, ensures the timely delivery of Y-20BE orders, but also highlights XAC's leading position in aircraft manufacturing technology.
Nowadays, there are very few countries in the world that can manufacture large transport aircraft, and Xifei has accumulated rich manufacturing experience through the pulsating production line. Previously, Xifei has successfully transformed the production line of the Y-9 transport aircraft into pulsating mode, which has further improved production efficiency and product quality. CCTV's report proves to the international market that Xifei has sufficient production capacity to meet the diverse needs of domestic and foreign customers, and adds important weight for the Y-20BE to win more orders in the international market.
In the field of large transport aircraft, the Y-20BE's international competitors include the C-17 of the United States, the Il-76 of Russia and the A400M of Europe. Among them, the Y-20BE, with a maximum load of 66 tons, is comparable to the C-17 with a load of 77 tons and the Il-76 with a load of 60 tons, while the A400M with a load of 37 tons is slightly inferior in scale. However, it is worth noting that the C-17 in the United States has long been discontinued, and most of the products currently circulating on the market are second-hand. Therefore, for customers looking for a new aircraft, they can only choose between the Y-20BE, IL-76 and A400M. But given the potential risks that the Russian Il-76 could pose due to sanctions, many potential buyers may hesitate to do so.
The emergence of the Y-20BE provides a new option for the international market. Its excellent performance, mature technology and strong production capacity of Xifei have undoubtedly added important weight to its international competition. In recent years, the European A400M has become a popular choice for military transport aircraft. However, with the official entry of the Y-20BE into the international strategic transport aircraft market, it has begun to attract widespread attention from potential buyers by virtue of its more advanced performance than the Russian Il-76 and the strong background that has been heavily equipped by the Chinese side. In the competition with the European A400M, the Y-20BE has carried out a "dimensionality reduction strike" on the A400M with the strength of a maximum load capacity of 66 tons. At the same time, with Xifei's mature and efficient pulsating production line, Y-20BE can ensure that customers' orders can be delivered on time or ahead of schedule.
When countries purchase transport aircraft, they often hope that they can be put into use immediately after simple training and familiarization. Therefore, for manufacturers, the ability to deliver on time has become the key to winning the market. China uses the Y-20 as a platform to continue to derive a variety of special aircraft such as air tankers and early warning aircraft. This means that after purchasing the Y-20BE transport aircraft, customers can also enjoy the modification and upgrade services we provide for them if they need it - this kind of systematic "after-sales service" is not available in the A400M.
To sum up, we have enough reason to believe that the Y-20BE will shine in the international transport aircraft market in the future!