Tanker, transporter, controller: China’s Y-20 family expands its Pacific reach

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...