The Xi'an Y-20 (Chinese: 运-20; pinyin: Yùn-20; lit. 'transport-20') is a large military transport aircraft. The project is being developed by Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation and was officially launched in 2006. The official codename of the aircraft is Kunpeng (Chinese: 鲲鹏), after the mythical bird that can fly for thousands of miles described in the ancient Chinese Taoist classic Zhuangzi. However, within the Chinese aviation industry itself, the aircraft is more commonly known by its nickname Chubby Girl (Chinese: 胖妞; pinyin: Pàng niū), because its fuselage is much wider compared to other aircraft previously developed in China. The aircraft was primarily designed and developed in China under Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation. In late 2020, Y-20 starts to incorporate indigenous WS-20 engines. The base model of Y-20 was further developed into the Y-20U as aerial refueling tankers which was introduced in late 2021. The Y-20 uses components made of composite materials. The composites are now produced in China, whereas in the past they had to be imported. The Y-20's cabin incorporates flame-retardant composites developed by the 703 Institute of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The 703 Institute was created in March 2009 with development taking three years. The performance of the composites is reportedly comparable to those that fulfill FAR Part 25.835. The 703 Institute achieved another milestone by establishing a comprehensive Chinese evaluation and certification system for aircraft composite materials based on international standards. The Y-20 is the first cargo aircraft to use 3D printing technology to speed up its development and to lower its manufacturing cost.[citation needed] Model-based definition (MBD) is also used, and it's the third aircraft to utilize MBD technology in the world, after Airbus A380 (2000) and Boeing 787 (2005). A project team to implement MBD for the Y-20 program was formally formed in October 2009, and after the initial success in application on the main landing gear, MBD application was expanded to the entire aircraft and became mandatory for all contractors and sub contractors of the Y-20 program. The implementation of MBD was initially met with strong resistance, with only a third of suppliers agreeing to implement MBD. However, the general designer of Y-20 declared that those who refused to implement MBD will be banned from participating in the Y-20 program, thus forcing everyone to comply, resulting in increases in productivity. The implementation of MBD greatly shortened the time required, for example, without MBD, installation of wings takes a month or two, but with MBD adopted, the time is drastically shortened to just a few hours, and in general, the design work reduced by 40%, preparation for production reduced by 75%, and manufacturing cycle reduced by 30%. In April 2022, six Y-20 aircraft of he Chinese Air Force flew into Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade carrying Chinese anti-aircraft missiles for the Serbian Army. Controversy On July 13, 2016, Chinese national Su Bin pleaded guilty, and admitted to charges that he conspired with others to hack into U.S. defense contractor Boeing and steal documents related to the development of the C-17, F-22, and F-35 aircraft. Once the information was stolen, he admitted to analyzing and translating documents from English to Chinese, which he then emailed to the Second Department of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department. Su Bin admitted he did so for financial gain, and sought to profit from the data that was stolen. In addition to financial gain, court documents revealed, in emails to the Second Department of the PLA, Su Bin noted the information, "...has extremely vital significance in our country's speeding up the development," of Project A, revealed to be China's program to develop the Xi'an Y-20. For more details on design, operationl history and variants, click here.
