Images confirm Y-20U aerial tanker is in PLAAF service

A photograph and video footage have emerged on the Weibo social media platform confirming that the aerial refuelling variant of the Xi'an Aircraft Corporation Y-20A transport aircraft has entered service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

The footage, which was posted on 28 November, shows an example of the Y-20U aerial tanker in flight featuring low-visibility PLAAF markings as well as serial number ‘20241', both of which indicate that the platform is in service within the 13th Transport Division, 37th Air Regiment at Kaifeng under PLA's Central Theater Command.

The latest development comes on the same day a Y-20U was spotted, for the first time, among the aircraft that entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone (AIDZ), along with two KJ-500 AEW&C, a Y-9 EW, five H-6K bomber, six J-10 and four J-11 fighter, and eight J-16 multirole fighter.

The Y-20U is fitted with three hose-and-drogue refuelling pods that are possibly based on the Russian-made UPAZ-1A pods used on the Ilyushin Il-78M tanker aircraft. Two of the refuelling pods on the Y-20U are mounted under the outer wings while the third one is on the rear fuselage.

According to the latest images available, the Y-20U features a redesigned aft section of the main landing gear sponson, most likely to improve airflow and enable more stable refuelling process, in particular reducing the air turbulence effect on the aircraft being refuelled directly behind the Y-20U.