China Test Flies Heavy Air Force Freight Plane

[News_Editor]

China’s new jumbo air freighter, the Y-20, prepares to take off from an unidentified airport for a test run on Jan. 26. (Photo: People’s Daily)

BEIJING — China said it successfully tested a heavy air force freighter that could be a mostly home-grown substitute for the older Russian planes it now uses while substantially boosting the Chinese military’s global reach.

The Y-20 flew took off from its development base near the northwestern city of Xi’an on Saturday, the China Daily and other newspapers reported on Monday. The plane can fly 44,000 km with 66 tons of freight, and is designed to fill the need for a stronger, long-range heavy lift capacity.

China now uses Russian IL-76 freighters, including for communications roles, but those planes were first built in the 1970s and their technology is outdated. The Y-20, which compares to the US Air Force’s C-17 cargo planes, will use Russian jet engines until China develops replacements, the reports said.

China in 2011 sent IL-76 freighters to rescue its citizens trapped by the fighting in Libya and the introduction of the Y-20 should substantially increase the military’s ability to deliver soldiers and equipment, including tanks, for combat missions or disaster relief.

Separately, the official Xinhua news agency said China successfully tested an anti-ballistic missile system Sunday but gave few details. China last successfully tested the system in 2010.

China has spent lavishly on its military in recent years as its economy boomed, giving the country the second-largest official defense budget after the United States. That has given teeth to Beijing’s ambitions to take a leading role in the Asian Pacific region and deter Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as its own, from declaring formal independence.

While China says those arms are purely for defense, its recent aggressive moves to assert its territorial claims have unnerved Vietnam, the Philippines and other neighbors and prompted them to boost defense spending as well.

Source: Irrawaddy.org

[cloudhopper]

"The plane can fly 44,000 km"

Sorry but that's obviously impossible, not to mention unnecessary.

[NeverSure]

"The Y-20, which compares to the US Air Force's C-17 cargo planes..."

The C-17 is the baby. Where's the daddy; the C 5M Super Galaxy?

The floor of the cargo bay in a Galaxy is long enough to conduct the entire flight of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk.

Edited January 30, 2013 by NeverSure

[NeverSure]

"China has spent lavishly on its military in recent years as its economy boomed, giving the country the second-largest official defense budget after the United States."

Right.

[Chicog]

"The Y-20, which compares to the US Air Force's C-17 cargo planes..."

The C-17 is the baby. Where's the daddy; the C 5M Super Galaxy?

The floor of the cargo bay in a Galaxy is long enough to conduct the entire flight of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk.

Where's the grandpa?

[Tywais]

"The plane can fly 44,000 km"

Sorry but that's obviously impossible, not to mention unnecessary.

Seems I'm not the only one who found that a bit, let's just say, crazy. Or perhaps they forgot to mention it can do midair refueling? Even if all 66 tons of the cargo was fuel it wouldn't get you there. For example, a 747 holds from 163-176 tons of fuel.

[Terry Newman]

Why Publish tripe? You could pick any random number if including in flight refueling.

44,000KM eh ????

But

24,901 miles (40,075 km) = Earth, Circumference

[Payboy]

Considering its Made in China, 44k km is probably its life expectancy.

[NeverSure]

While the big planes are mid-air refueling capable, the practical use for it is with fighters and blackhawk helicopters which don't hold that much fuel relatively speaking.

A refueling tanker must first carry its own weight and its own fuel, and the tanks for refueling are the payload. Both the US and Europe will be using converted passenger planes. Europe will be using an Airbus and the US a Boeing 767. This is a step up from the C-17 (KC-10) which has been in use.

China's vaunted new cargo plane is small compared to an Airbus. The advantage of a cargo plane is its high wing and ability to land and take off from less improved fields.

China is sucking hind tit for technology compared to W. Europe and the US in every area. The only thing that makes China or Russia any threat at all is that they have nukes. They don't have decent subs or carrier groups or fighters or missiles or...

Here's 23 seconds well worth the time. (New F-35 fighter jet.) The loop is unintended, but just look at the ability to recover. Now THAT is power to weight ratio in spades.

Edited January 30, 2013 by NeverSure

[NeverSure]

What keeps China in check as much as anything is India. India hates China. India has nukes and ICBM's and buys military hardware from W. Europe and the US. It can also match China's population. India is an emerging economy too, but instead of making junk for Wal Mart, they make high tech things including many of the prescription drugs sold around the world. They contract with Western Pharma companies to make them, and they are way ahead of China in some areas.

[electau]

"China has spent lavishly on its military in recent years as its economy boomed, giving the country the second-largest official defense budget after the United States."

Right.

Military spending as a percentage of GDP, eg, the US financial deficit is 103% of GDP

[Mosha]

Wiki has it's estimated specs. Range 4500 km

[electau]

Wiki has it's estimated specs. Range 4500 km

Range 4500kms it has to be able to fly 9000kms without mid air refuelling, ie it has to fly from here to there and return with max load in kgs. Its average speed is probably around 800km/hour.

[SeaVisionBurma]

Range 4500kms it has to be able to fly 9000kms without mid air refuelling, ie it has to fly from here to there and return with max load in kgs. Its average speed is probably around 800km/hour.

A little confused by this post. Range is the maximum distance an aircraft can fly with a single full load of fuel, from take-off to landing.

Mid-air refuelling is irrelevant when talking about an aircraft's range - with ongoing regular mid-air refuelling - any aircraft has an unlimited range.

'here to there and return' is not relevant when talking about range either.

If the range is 4500km, then it should be able to fly 4500km on a single full load of fuel - not 9000km return.

Are you confusing range with combat radius?

[Publicus]

"China has spent lavishly on its military in recent years as its economy boomed, giving the country the second-largest official defense budget after the United States."

Right.

Military spending as a percentage of GDP, eg, the US financial deficit is 103% of GDP

The debt to GDP ratio of the PRChina was already at 200% towards the end of 2011, mainly due to off balance sheet bank lending to CCP chums by bankers, the shadow banking system and, in the words of the precient short trader Jim Chanos, the fact Chinese banks - they're all state owned and operated - :"are built on quicksand." Check it out at the link:

http://www.economonitor.com/blog/2011/09/jim-chanos-china-has-tons-of-contingent-debt-via-state-owned-enterprises/

Beijing is starting to spend money on its military the way the former Soviet Union did, which as we know, was a major contributor to the collapse of the CCCP and the state it owned. The United States intelligently is paring its defense costs. Beijing however continues to charge forward in its military spending, like a bull in the proverbial China Shoppe. The Chinese military has effectively extracted itself from the supervision of the Chinese Communist Party. With the PRC's debt to GDP ratio already out of this world, the PLA's continued racking up of expenditures such as on this useless transport plane with an obsolete power plant is going to bust the State. It's only a matter of time.

[electau]

Range 4500kms it has to be able to fly 9000kms without mid air refuelling, ie it has to fly from here to there and return with max load in kgs. Its average speed is probably around 800km/hour.

A little confused by this post. Range is the maximum distance an aircraft can fly with a single full load of fuel, from take-off to landing.

Mid-air refuelling is irrelevant when talking about an aircraft's range - with ongoing regular mid-air refuelling - any aircraft has an unlimited range.

'here to there and return' is not relevant when talking about range either.

If the range is 4500km, then it should be able to fly 4500km on a single full load of fuel - not 9000km return.

Are you confusing range with combat radius?

In WW2 the range of an aircraft was the max distance it could operate and be able to return to its base. This is why Japan could not be attacked directly from Midway, there were no aircraft with the range required until the B29 which operated from Saipan. After the war the B36 was developed it had a max range of 10000miles. It ws superceded by the B52.

In flight refueling was later developed but it can not be relayed upon so that the aircraft can return to its base, in this case the PRC. An inflight refuelling aircraft would be shot down in a hostile application.

[coma]

Maybe the Chinese have developed a way for it to run on solar power for it to have a range of 44000km. Would that mean 66 tons of solar panels stuck to the skin of the aircraft ?

[Scott]

Maybe the Chinese have developed a way for it to run on solar power for it to have a range of 44000km. Would that mean 66 tons of solar panels stuck to the skin of the aircraft ?

No, but it would mean the sun would have to shine through all the smog in China.

[coma]

Maybe the Chinese have developed a way for it to run on solar power for it to have a range of 44000km. Would that mean 66 tons of solar panels stuck to the skin of the aircraft ?

No, but it would mean the sun would have to shine through all the smog in China.

Now there is a point I didn't consider.