Chinese Aerial Refuelling Takes Centre Stage at Victory Parade: YY-20 Rapidly Expanding the Combat Fleet’s Reach

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force on September 3 deployed YY-20 aerial tankers for a prominent display of the service’s new and fast growing aerial refuelling capabilities, as part of a military parade marking of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The aircraft is a new addition to the Chinese fleet, and was not in service at the time of the country’s last military parade in October 2019. The aircraft followed a formation of Y-20 strategic transport jets to fly over Chan An Street and Tiananmen Square, and were seen refuelling multiple classes of combat aircraft including J-20 and J-16 fighters and H-6 bombers. The YY-20 was developed as a tanker derivative of the Y-20 transport, and currently represents China’s only indigenous long range aerial refuelling aircraft.

The YY-20 first began combat readiness training in late 2022, with the Air Force having previously had a negligible tanker capability comprised of three ex-Soviet Il-78M tankers, and a number of converted H-6 bomber airframes. Chinese fighter aircraft have significantly longer ranges than their Western counterparts, with the J-20 having approximately twice the range of its American rival the F-35, which is thought to have been a primary factor in previously limiting interest in investing in tanker capabilities. As the J-20’s range is set to be further extended with the integration of WS-15 engines, support from a sizeable YY-20 fleet could facilitate extended operations up to and beyond the Second Island Chain, allowing the fighters to exercise a more dominant role over the Pacific.

Unlike its fighters, Chinese bombers are much lighter shorter ranged than their American or Russian counterparts, with support from the YY-20 fleet expected to have a transformative impact on how the H-6 bomber fleet can operate. This could complement the effects of the integration of more advanced and longer ranged missiles onto the bombers, as well as the use of Russian airbases for refuelling on the ground, allowing them to more easily fly within range to engage targets across Europe and the continental United States. The YY-20’s own range is reportedly set to be improved with the integration of the WS-20 engine, which was reported in early 2023 to have been made ready for operational service, and is expected to power the Y-20, YY-20 and the new airborne early warning and control variant of the aircraft the KJ-3000. The YY-20’s service entry in considerable numbers and its widespread use in exercises represents one of the most conspicuous means in which the operations of Chinese fixed wing combat aviation has changed significantly over the past six years.