AVIC's Y-20 Kunpeng, a four-turbofan strategic airlifter, could become one of the Chinese company's main exports in years to come. LIANG XU/XINHUA

A heavyweight newcomer

A monster transporter plane was unveiled at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition. The Y-20 Kunpeng, a four-turbofan strategic airlifter made by the Aviation Industry Corp of China, is set to go on the market, although the People's Liberation Army will be supplied before other customers.

Geng Ruguang, deputy general manager at AVIC, said that development work and tests on the Y-20 have been satisfactory, and added that the huge transporter plane will be available to customers soon. However, Geng declined to say if the company has received any orders from foreign buyers.

Tang Jun, chairman of Xi'an Aircraft Industry, the AVIC subsidiary that's developing the Y-20, was more forthright. "We will develop a number of variations of the Y-20, and we are definitely going to export them," he said. "But the final decision will be up to the related governments and military authorities."

The plane made its maiden flight in January 2013, making China the third nation, after the United States and Russia, to develop a heavy-lift transporter such as the Y-20.

A PLA National Defense University study in July showed that the Chinese military needs at least 10 transport regiments and as many as 400 Y-20s to conduct operations in Asia.

The Y-20 has a maximum payload of 66 metric tons, and a maximum takeoff weight of more than 200 tons, according to military sources

A technical evaluation by Aerospace Knowledge showed that when fully laden with fuel and carrying a payload of 51 tons, the Y-20 can fly as far as 5,200 km, meaning the plane is capable of reaching every part of Eurasia, the US state of Alaska, Australia, and North Africa.

Wang Ya'nan, the magazine's deputy editor-in-chief, said many countries need large transporter planes, because aircraft of this type provide a strategic advantage in power projection.

"In a large-scale deployment, they would have to either make one trip with four small or medium-sized transporters, or have one transporter fly four times to ferry the same amount that can be carried by a heavy-duty airlifter in just one flight. Large transporters such as the Y-20 can enable a rapid and convenient way of projecting power."

A number of geopolitical factors are also likely to help the Y-20.

"The US has sold its Boeing C-17 to India, so it's unlikely to give it to Pakistan," Wang said. "Frankly speaking, nations like Pakistan and some countries in South America can only look to China if they want strategic transporters."

Wu Jian, a military observer in Shanghai, echoed Wang's remarks, saying that Russia hopes its Ilyushin Il-476 will capture half of the market for transporters, but its outmoded design means it's unable to carry certain types of modern weapons.

"The Il-476's cargo cabin design was based on the size of weapons made in the 1960s and '70s, while today's equipment is much larger," he said, noting that the newly developed Y-20 can carry all types of modern equipment.