Serbia airlift highlights importance of China’s military workhorse, the Y-20

Six of the transport planes, reportedly carrying missiles, took part in a multi-day, long-range mission that showcased the PLA’s growing logistical capability

Military analysts say the ability to move troops and equipment over long distances is key to the country’s military ambitions

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China is expanding its fleet of Y-20s. Photo: AP

Published: 4:38pm, 24 Apr 2022Updated: 8:13pm, 24 Apr 2022

China’s recent airlift to Serbia has highlighted the role that its growing fleet of Y-20 transport planes will play in its future strategic ambitions.

Six of the transport planes, reportedly carrying FK-3 medium-range missile systems, flew to Serbia earlier this month in a three-day mission, according to the air tracking site Flightradar24.

In the past two years the planes have been used to send humanitarian aid to countries such as Pakistan and Tonga, to bring back the remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the Korean war and for counterterrorism drills in Russia.

However, the delivery of sophisticated missile systems, is another thing, and highlights the importance of being able to move troops and equipment over long distances in the event of conflict in the South China Sea or Taiwan, according to analysts.

Yue Gang, a retired People’s Liberation Army colonel and military commentator, said the trip exceeded 8,000km (5,000 miles) and was the largest-scale transport overseas mission the country had carried out so far.

“It shows the ability of the Chinese air force to achieve large-scale, one-time mass delivery of weapons and equipment, which we call ‘strategic delivery capability’, the core capability of a country’s army,” he said.