China showcases military prowess in joint Africa exercises
China, Mozambique, and Tanzania are conducting military manoeuvres in Peace Unity 2024. Their official goal is counter-terrorism, but the exercises have also provided China with an opportunity to deploy troops and test new equipment.
As part of the exercises, China sent a squadron of ships to Africa, including two Type 071 landing ships and a Type 052D destroyer. The ground component is to consist of heavy equipment, including armoured vehicles and artillery.
Some forces were transported to Africa by air. For the first time in Africa, Y-20 strategic transport aircraft made this possible. What is known about this equipment?
Y-20 - heavy transport aircraft
The Y-20 is a new Chinese transport aircraft. It was developed to address the existing lack of modern strategic air transport and create a machine capable of transporting armoured equipment over long distances.
Work on the new aircraft began in 2007, and by 2013, trials of the prototype model had commenced.
The Y-20 weighs 111 metric tonnes and can carry 74 metric tonnes of cargo. The aircraft has a wingspan of 50 metres and a length of 47 metres and is powered by four WS-20 engines, which propel it to a maximum speed of 925 kilometres per hour.
An asset of the aircraft is its range—with two Type 15 light tanks on board, the Y-20 can travel nonstop up to 7,400 kilometres. By reducing the cargo to 18 metric tonnes, the range increases to 10,000 kilometres.
Based on the new aircraft, the Chinese have also developed its variants – the Y-20B equipped with Chinese-developed WS-20 engines, the YY-20A and YY-20B – flying tankers, and the Y-20 AEW, a new airborne early warning aircraft currently in development.
