China showcases military prowess in 'Peace Unity 2024' exercises
China, Mozambique, and Tanzania are conducting the military exercises Peace Unity 2024. Their official goal is counter-terrorism, but the drills have also allowed China 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 consists of heavy equipment, including armoured vehicles and artillery.
Some forces were transported to Africa by air, which was made possible by using Y-20 strategic transport aircraft – a first for Africa. 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 lack of modern means of strategic air transport and aims to transport armoured equipment over long distances.
Work on the new aircraft began in 2007, and trials of the prototype model had commenced by 2013.
The Y-20 weighs 100,000 kilograms and can carry 66,000 kilograms of cargo. It has a wingspan of 50 meters and a length of 47 meters and is powered by four WS-20 engines, which propel it to a maximum speed of 918 km/h.
An asset of the aircraft is its range—with two Type 15 light tanks on board, the Y-20 can travel up to 7,400 kilometres nonstop. By reducing the cargo to 16,300 kilograms, the range increases to 10,000 kilometres.
The Chinese have also developed variants based on the new aircraft—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 developing.
