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Explainer | China’s ‘Chubby Girl’ military transport plane at the centre of Malaysia row
- PLA Air Force has been accused of an ‘intrusion’ near Luconia Shoals in the South China Sea
- Images show two types of Chinese transport aircraft including the most advanced, the Xian Y-20
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This week, Malaysia’s air force said it had detected “suspicious” activities near the Malaysian-administered Luconia Shoals, in the disputed South China Sea. It said Malaysian interceptors had identified 16 aircraft in formation on Monday and that they were Chinese military transport aircraft.
The incident escalated, with Malaysia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday saying it would summon China’s ambassador to explain the “intrusion” by Chinese military planes into its exclusive economic zone. China’s foreign ministry and its embassy in Malaysia denied the claim, saying the air force had been conducting a routine training exercise in line with international law and its planes had not entered another country’s airspace.
Here we take a closer look at the huge planes at the centre of the row.
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Malaysia to summon Chinese envoy after airspace ‘intrusion’
Malaysia to summon Chinese envoy after airspace ‘intrusion’
What are they?
Transport aircraft are there to support military operations by delivering personnel and equipment where they are needed. They are used for both strategic and tactical missions – say, to airlift paratroopers or even to transport tanks. A large cargo capacity means they are often used for disaster relief missions too. They were used to get military medics and supplies into Wuhan when the Chinese city was struggling to cope with the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020.
How big are they?
Pretty big. Malaysia’s air force released images of Xian Y-20s in its airspace on Monday – a plane that is 47 metres long, 15 metres high and with a 50-metre wingspan. That’s the largest in China’s military fleet and almost double the size of its most advanced fighter jet. They can carry up to 66 tonnes of cargo and fly for nearly 8,000km. But they’re not the biggest military transport planes – that title belongs to the AN-124 Ruslan used by the Russian Air Force. It’s nearly 70 metres long, 21 metres high and has a wingspan of over 73 metres.
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Does China have other military transport planes?
There are six in service that were developed in China, but the Y-20 – the Y stands for Yun, which means transport – is the most advanced in the series. The Xian Aircraft Industrial Corporation delivered the first Y-20 to the Chinese air force in 2016, and it has been nicknamed “Chubby Girl” because of its stocky shape. It’s not known how many are in service but the Y-20 fleet is estimated at more than 20.
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