Aerospace giant pools talent for epic project
Y-20 military transport plane built with input from multiple entities, in a first for the nation
A defence conglomerate took a new tack to create the country’s biggest military transport plane, opting to pool design and production input from various subsidiaries rather than relying on just one, according to state media.
Aerospace juggernaut Aviation Industry Corporation of China (Avic) enlisted several of its subsidiaries to design and develop the Y-20 transporter more than a decade ago, with Xian Aircraft Industry Corporation (XAIC) taking the lead in the project, CCTV reported.
In the past, design, development and production of aircraft in the country had been assigned to only one entity.
“[All of the aircraft companies] of the country were mobilised to complete the Y-20 project,” Han Xianli, former office director of Avic’s heavy transport aircraft, told CCTV.
“The project was developed under a joint cooperation system to bring together all the key technologies in our country’s aviation industry.”
The Y-20 made its maiden flight in 2013, and was handed over to the People’s Liberation Army in 2016, eight years after the project was launched. That compares with the 14-year development time for the American C-17 air freighter and 11 years for Russia’s Il-76, according to CCTV.
The development of the Y-20 was driven by the central leadership’s desire for an aerial platform for an early-warning and control system similar to the one used in Russia.
It has a maximum take-off weight of about 200 tonnes and can travel nearly 10,000km without refuelling.
Giving a rare glimpse of XAIC’s massive aircraft production base in Shaanxi, the CCTV report said the firm spent more than 70 million yuan (HK$76 million) on a digital design system to enable engineers to pool their ideas.
The CCTV report did not detail the key technologies involved, but an article in the military magazine Ordnance Industry Science Technology in August last year said almost all of Avic’s subsidiaries were part of the project.
The article said XAIC was responsible for the development of the forebody, central fuselage and wing units, while Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group worked on the Y-20’s radar and dome design.
Shenyang Aircraft Corporation took part in the tail design, while other Avic subsidiaries such as Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, shared responsibilities for production of components.