When six Chinese heavy transport planes entered European airspace in April 2022, it was not just their cargo that drew international attention.
Bound for Serbia, the Y-20 aircraft had flown thousands of kilometres from China carrying components of the Chinese-made FK-3 surface-to-air missile system.
A second wave of six aircraft followed, bringing the operation to 12 sorties in what was then China’s biggest overseas airlift involving the strategic cargo plane.
Coming just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, the delivery raised concerns among European capitals about Belgrade’s growing military ties with Beijing. But the operation also revealed something significant about Chinese capabilities: the People’s Liberation Army could now use its own heavy transport aircraft to move military equipment from East Asia deep into Europe.
At the centre of that capability was the Y-20 Kunpeng, China’s first domestically developed heavy military transport.
Four years on, the aircraft is evolving into something considerably more versatile. China has introduced an improved version powered by domestically produced engines, confirmed that the airframe can switch between transport and aerial-refuelling roles, and is using it as the basis for a new airborne early-warning aircraft.