Three Y-20B aircraft with the "Big Barrel" engine configuration flying in formation, captured on social media. This is a fully equipped version with the WS-20 engine, indicating that the production capacity of the Y-20 has started to surge, and it is being produced at full speed. It also means that the Y-20 will finally say goodbye to the Russian D-30KP-2 engine.

The powerful power of the WS-20 engine gives the Y-20B stronger flight capability. After replacing the new WS-20 engine, the maximum takeoff weight of the Y-20 transport aircraft reached 220 tons as initially designed, and the maximum payload increased from 55 tons to 66 tons, significantly enhancing its strategic transport capabilities.

During the test flight stage and early production phase, the Y-20 used the Russian D-30KP-2 turbofan engine. This engine was manufactured by the Russian "Saturn" Scientific Production Union, weighing 2300 kg, with a thrust of 12.5 tons (123 kN), and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 5.43. Four D-30KP-2 engines can produce 50 tons of thrust.

The D-30KP-2 engine did not use digital control and could not be integrated with the flight control system. Its fuel consumption and noise levels have always been high. Additionally, the limited import quantity restricted the development of the Y-20. At that time, China took a compromise approach, developing the WS-18 engine based on the D-30KP-2 engine as a replacement model for the D-30KP-2 engine, and also as a backup for the development of the WS-20. If the development of the WS-20 encountered difficulties, it would ensure that the Y-20 was not affected.

The WS-20 is a new generation of high-bypass ratio large-thrust military turbofan engine in China, developed based on the core engine of the WS-10 "Taihang" engine. It is a new type of turbofan engine with a high bypass ratio and no afterburner. There are rumors that it is at the same technical level as the CFM-56 engine, which was developed from the F101 military engine, and its comprehensive performance is significantly better than the D-30KP-2 engine and the WS-18.

According to foreign media speculation, the maximum takeoff thrust of the WS-20 can reach around 15 tons, which is close to the 17 tons of the engine used in the American C-17 transport aircraft. In addition, the WS-20 uses a new high-performance core engine, which greatly increases the bypass ratio, and significantly improves the issues of fuel consumption and noise.

The Y-20 strategic transport aircraft officially entered service in the Chinese Air Force in 2016, and has been in service for nine years. If calculated at an annual production of 12 aircraft (actual may be more), the total number of Y-20 series transport aircraft is estimated to exceed 100 aircraft (with about a dozen improved versions of the Y-20B). This scale obviously exceeds the current Il-76 fleet of the Russian Air Force (the Russian Air Force has more than 70 Il-76 aircraft). Therefore, the Y-20 ranks second in the world in terms of the size of the strategic transport aircraft fleet, behind only the US Air Force's C-17 transport aircraft.

The US Air Force currently has 222 C-17 "Globemaster" transport aircraft and 52 C-5 "Galaxy" transport aircraft, 370 KC-135 and over 90 KC-46 refueling aircraft.

Although we do not yet have global deployment strategic needs, the production of the Y-20 transport aircraft in China is estimated to exceed 400 aircraft, including 300 transport models and 100 refueling models.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7531605209202704948/

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