China's Y-20 Heavy Operational-Strategic Transport: A Hybrid Of An-170, An-77 And Il-76MD
Sergey Goncharov
MOSCOW DEFENSE BRIEF
Moscow Defense Brief
China’s efforts to create its own strategic military transport fleet coincided - though not entirely by accident - with the break-up of the former Soviet Union. Those efforts were spurred by the new opportunities for military hardware importers which opened up thanks to the crisis in the USSR and, in later years, in the former Soviet republics. The first Chinese contract for three Il-76MD transports was signed by the Tashkent Chkalov Aircraft Production Company (TAPOiCH), an Uzbek aircraft maker, in 1990. The planes were delivered to the Chinese in July-October 1991. They were assigned to the Chinese Air Force, although formally they were given civilian registration numbers and the color scheme of China United Airlines, a commercial carrier. In 1992 China placed an order for another seven Il-76MDs, which were delivered in September 1993- February 1994. A year later Beijing ordered another four aircraft, delivered in 1996. All 14 Il-76MD transports bought by China were given the local designation Y-13, and assigned to the Chinese Air Force’s 13th Air Division, based at the Danyang airbase in Hubei Province.1 Even though the aircraft have the Il-76MD Soviet/Russian designation, they are not equipped with a defensive cannon unit at the rear, and their outward appearance is similar to the civilian Il-76TD model. In addition, after 1991 China bought at least six used Il-76MD aircraft from Uzbekistan. 2
Another stage in the development of China’s strategic military transport fleet began a decade later. In September 2005, during the 12th session of the Russian-Chinese intergovernmental commission on military and technical cooperation, Rosoboronexport and China’s National Defense Ministry signed a contract for 34 Il-76MD transports, four Il-78M aerial refueling tankers, and 51 spare D-30KP-2 engines, worth a total of 1.045bn dollars. TAPOiCH was assigned the role of the main subcontractor. Deliveries were due to commence in 2007 and finish in 2012.
But then the Uzbek company began to play for time; it tried to revise the terms of the contract in an effort to get a better deal. Its primary argument was that about 95 per cent of the aircraft’s components had to be imported from Russia, making the final product more expensive. Besides, it soon turned out that the Tashkent-based company simply could not resume mass production of the IL-76 in such a short time - most of its specialists had quit, and there was no-one left to assemble such a large batch of aircraft. TAPOiCH could guarantee the delivery of only 16 planes - that is how many finished airframes it had left from previous years. As a result, in March 2006 TAPOiCH rejected the unit price which had already been agreed with the Chinese, and refused to sign the sub-contract with Rosoboronexport. The Chinese contract fell through.3
It is only in late 2006 that the Russian MoD officially announced that TAPOiCH would not be able to meet the deadlines under the latest Chinese contract. But less than a month after the Tashkent company refused to sign the subcontract with Rosoboronexport - namely, in April 2006 - Chinese trade representatives in Ukraine approached ANTK Antonov, a Ukrainian aircraft maker. They said China wanted the Ukrainian company’s help in developing a new operational-strategic transport. That request went beyond the scope of the already agreed areas of Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation in aircraft design and manufacture. (ANTK Antonov took part in the China-2000 AirShow in Zhuhai on November 6-12, 2000, where it signed a cooperation agreement with China’s AVIC II aircraft corporation. The two companies agreed to work together on upgrading China’s An-12 and Y-8 aircraft to the Y-8F600 specification, and on bringing the An-2 / Y-5 fleet to the An-3 specification, which has a turboprop engine. Two years later ANTK Antonov signed another deal at the AirShow China-2002 event, a design contract with AVIC I. The Ukrainian company undertook «to conduct the entire range of works related to designing the wing of the ARJ 21 future regional aircraft»)4. The Ukrainians said they were ready to provide the required assistance. A few months later a large Chinese delegation, which included representatives of the Chinese MoD and of the Industry and IT ministry, came to Kiev for a low-key visit to discuss the details.
As an alternative to the Uzbek-Russian Il-76MD transport, the Ukrainians offered the Chinese the An-70, which had already entered limited production. After a brief pause - which the Chinese probably made for diplomatic appearances’ sake - that offer was turned down. One of the reasons was the insufficient maximum payload the An-70 can carry (47 tonnes, whereas the combat weight of China’s Type 98 main battle tank is 48 tonnes, rising to almost 50 tonnes when the MBT is equipped with an extra fuel tank and detachable self-entrenching gear5). Even more importantly, the maximum range of the An-70 with maximum payload is only 1,350 km. The Chinese wanted at least 3,650 km, which is what the Il-76MD offers, and would have preferred the figure to go as high as 4,000 km or more.
Another reason why Beijing refused to consider entering the An-70 into service with the Chinese Air Force was the D-27 turbofan engine used on that aircraft. To begin with, the Chinese knew that the engine had turned out to be fairly unreliable during the first phase of the An-70 flight tests in Ukraine. Besides (and perhaps more importantly), they had decided that it would be impossible to launch production of such a complex engine at China’s own factories. The Chinese military asked instead that the future transport be equipped with the tried and tested Russian D-30KP-2 engine, which China’s own industry was already gearing to start making under the local WS-18 designation.
ANTK Antonov said the wishes expressed by the Chinese could be accommodated. By early 2007 it had set up a new VTL (Heavy Transport Aircraft) working group, which was soon given the green light to start developing a heavy transport using the existing designs for the An-77, a turbojet version of the An-70, which had earlier been put on hold. (Officially, however, ANTK Antonov, which is the head company of the Antonov State Enterprise, is merely providing advice and consultation to the team designing the new aircraft.) The take-off weight of the aircraft was increased from 132 tonnes to 187 tonnes, and its maximum payload went up from 47 to 50 tonnes. (The volume of the cargo bay was increased by adding a 2-meter insert in the airframe in front of the center-wing section.) The original An-77 design relied on four CFM56-5A16 bypass turbofan engines; these were replaced by four D-30KP-2 bypass turbofan engines in the Y-20. The aircraft retained its ability to take-off and land using short landing strips, although the take-off length went up to 900m. (The solution for increasing the thrust is the same as the one used in the An-77. It was first introduced in the C-17A Globemaster III and boils down to directing the exhaust jet of the bypass turbofan engine at the high-lift flaps. In the An-70 extra lift is achieved by using the SV-27 propfan, which sits on the D-27 engine’s shaft, to blow a stream of air at the wing.)
Work on this design, which was initially designated as the Y-XX, continued for three years. It is widely believed that first information about the Y-XX, which by that time had been re-designated as the Y-20, was published on December 23, 2009 by the China Military Aviation portal. The report referred to the Y-20 military transport being developed in China by Xian Aircraft Industrial (Group) Corporation. In actual fact, however, first news about the project appeared on the discussion boards of Russian aerospace news websites almost a year before the article on the China Military Aviation website - namely, in the autumn of 2008. When the new aircraft was “declassified” in that article, its specifications were still very similar to those of the Il-76, with a maximum take-off weight of 200 tonnes and a maximum payload of 50 tonnes. The prototypes and the first mass-produced aircraft were expected to be fitted with the Russian D-30KP-2 engines. The later versions of the Y-20 were to be equipped with the Chinese clone of that engine, the WS-18, or its WS-118 modification. The first Y-20 prototype was slated to take to the air in 2012.7
But serious changes were made to the Y-20 design in 2010. The reason for that is thought to have been the entry into service with the Chinese army of the Type 99-IIA main battle tank, also known as the Type 99A2. The combat weight of this tank, which has many similarities to Germany’s Leopard IIA6, is 58 tonnes.8 That has translated into greater payload requirements for the Y-20, which is still expected to be able to carry even the heaviest tanks now in service with the Chinese Army. As a result the whole project has switched to a different underlying design by ANTK Antonov, the An-170, which is another variation of the An-70. The An-170 is a heavy operational-strategic transport which Antonov worked on in the late 1980s - early 1990s. The project was in competition with the Il-106, a rival design by the Ilyushin Bureau. The Il-106 was announced the winner by the Soviet authorities, but owing to the crisis which ensued after the break-up of the Soviet Union neither aircraft went into production. The An-170 is much larger and heavier than the An-70, with a take-off weight of 230 tonnes and a maximum payload of 60 tonnes. Another difference is the »regular» wing profile of the An-170, whereas the An-70 uses the so-called «supercritical» profile. The latest version of the Y-20 project still relies on the four D-30KP-2 bypass turbofan engines. Naturally, this means that the excellent short take-off and landing specifications of the original design are now out of the question- but there is every reason to believe that these specifications are still fairly good by normal standards.
Development of the Y-20 appears to be nearing completion, although the deadline for the maiden flight of the first prototype may still be pushed back a little. In a press release of May 12, 2011 XAIC confidently promised that the aircraft would take to the air before the XVIII Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is scheduled for later this year. But that press release was later removed from the company’s official website.9
The Y-20 project has given a new lease of life to the D-30KP engine, which is made in Rybinsk for the Il-76 aircraft. (The version in production since 1982 is the D-30KP-2, which can maintain its thrust specifications at higher surrounding air temperatures.) Despite its venerable age, the engine, which was launched in 1963, still remains in production thanks to Chinese custom. According to the press service of NPO Saturn, a contract between Rosoboronexport and China for 55 D-30KP-2 engines, to be delivered by 2012, entered into force in April 2009. The first batch was delivered to the customer in November 2009, another thee batches followed in March-October 2010, and the final fifth batch of 11 engines was delivered in March 2011. Although these five batches are sufficient to fit almost all the Il-76 aircraft currently in service in China with new engines, the Chinese have recently placed an even larger order. In late 2011 they signed a contract with NPO Saturn for 184 new D-30KM-2 engines, to be delivered over four years.10 Beijing is not saying what it needs those engines for - but it seems clear that most if not all of them will be installed on the Y-20 transports.
Project specifications of the AVIC Y-20 heavy transport11
Maximum payload, tonnes 60-65
Maximum speed, km/h 750-800
Service ceiling, m 13,000
Service range with maximum payload, km 4,400
Dimensions, m
Length 49
Wingspan 50
Height 15
Wing surface, square meters 310
Maximum take-off weight, tonnes 220
Empty weight, tonnes 100
Engines: type C… number C… engine thrust Bypass turbofan D-30KP-2, 4C…12,000 kg(f)
Crew 3
1. A. Manyakin, A. Fomin. KJ-2000. China's all-seeing eye in the sky/Vzlyot, No 11, 2009.
2. K. Chuprin, China's power in the sky, Harvest, Minsk, 2007.
3. O. Sharifov, Dead loop for TAPOiCH/Fergana - international news agency, November 15, 2010
4. S. Goncharov. Taking off in parts/Defense Express, No 7-8, 2006.
5. China's military equipment and hardware. Issue One. Tanks. Otvaga.narod.ru Internet project, Saransk, 2003.
6. V. Shunkov. Special purpose planes, Harvest, Minsk, 1999.
7. Aviatsiya i vremya, No 1, 2010 (Panorama section).
8. A. Berdnikov, China's Type 99A2 main battle tank/Zarubezhnoye Voennoye Obozreniye, No 1, 2012.
9. China's new heavy transport could take to the sky in 2012 - June 28, 2011 - Fifth-Generation Aircraft
10. A. Fomin. The Russian aircraft engine industry. Yearly results and plans / Vzlyot, No 4, 2012.
11. Table compiled from the following sources: bmpd - Chassis for China's Y-20 future transport (bmpd -), SATURN Research and Production Company. Corporate website
Print version
中国的Y-20重型战略运输机：混合的AN-170-77和IL-76MD
谢尔盖 冈察洛夫
莫斯科国防简报
莫斯科国防简报
中国努力的建立自己的军事战略运输队-恰逢前苏联解体-尽管并非是完全出于意料 。由于苏联的危机，在这之后的岁月里的前苏联加盟共和国的军火商，中国的这些努力为他们开辟了新的机遇。塔什干契卡洛夫飞机生产的公司（TAPOiCH），是乌兹别克飞机制造商，在1990年首和先中国签署了3架伊尔-76MD运输机的合同。于1991年7月至10月交付中国。他们被交付给了中国空军，虽然在桌面上，他们给的是民用注册号码，商业承运人是中国联合航空公司的马甲方案。 1992年，中国下了另一个订单七架IL-76MDs，在1993年9月到1994年2月交付。一年之后北京又订购了四架，飞机于1996年交付。所有购买的14架伊尔-76MD运输机由中国给了本国编号即Y-13，交付给驻地在湖北省丹阳的空军第13师。虽然这批飞机也是苏联/俄罗斯伊尔-76MD的称号，但他们并没有在后面配备防御炮单元，其外观是类似民用的IL-76TD机型。此外在1991年，中国从乌兹别克斯坦购买了至少6架伊尔-76MD飞机。 长达十年之后中国的军事战略运输队的发展才开始进入另一个阶段。 2005年9月，在第12届的俄罗斯 - 中国政府间委员会军事和技术合作过程中，俄罗斯国防出口公司和中国的国防部签署了一个包括34架伊尔-76MD运输机，4伊尔-78M空中加油机和51台备用的D30KP-2发动机，总价值达10.45亿美元的合同。 TAPOiCH被指定为主要生产商。交付由2007年开始，并在2012年完成。
但随后的乌兹别克公司开始拖延时间，试图修改合同条款来获得更好的交易。它的主要说法是，约95％飞机的部件从俄罗斯进口使最终产品变得更贵。此外，它很快就变成了的塔什干的公司，在短时间内根本就不可能恢复大规模生产IL-76 – 因为大多数的专家已经离开了，没有留下足够的人来组装这样一个大批量的飞机。 TAPOiCH可以保证交付只有16架飞机- 这是根据往年他们的能力来计算的。因此，在2006年3月TAPOiCH拒绝履行和中国达成的单价，并拒绝履行和俄罗斯国防出口公司签署分包合同。中国的和同下降了。
在2006年年底，俄罗斯国防部正式宣布，根据中国最新的合同TAPOiCH将无法满足最后期限。在塔什干公司拒绝与俄罗斯国防出口公司签署的分包合同之后不到一个月后的时间，在2006年4月 - 中国贸易代表在乌克兰，和乌克兰飞机制造商ANTK安东诺夫接洽。他们表示，中国希望在乌克兰公司的帮助下，开发新的战略运输机。这要求超出了乌克兰 - 中国在飞机设计和制造领域的已商定的合作范围。 （ANTK安东诺夫参加了于2000年11月6-12日-举行的中国2000年珠海航展,在航展上与中国航空工业第二集团公司飞机有限责任公司签署了合作协议——这两家公司同意共同努力将中国的AN-12和Y- 8飞机升级到Y-8F600标准，并将AN-2 / Y-5机队提升到其中有一个涡轮螺桨发动机的AN-3水平。两年后，在2002年航展上ANTK安东诺夫和中航工业签署了另一项协议，设计合同承担“未来的ARJ 21支线飞机的机翼设计的全部工程。）乌克兰人说他们已经准备好提供所需的援助。几个月后，一个包括中国国防部和工业，IT部的大型代表团，低调的来到基辅访问，商讨细节。
乌克兰为提供了中国作为一种替代乌兹别克 - 俄罗斯伊尔-76MD的运输机An-70，其已经进入限量生产。中国可能作出的外交颜面的缘故经过短暂的停顿，拒绝了这一提议。其中一个原因是An70的最大有效载荷(可以携带47吨，而中国的98主战坦克的战斗重量为48吨，而当主战坦克装备一个额外的燃料罐和可拆卸的五轮时上升到将近50吨）。更重要的是，安-70在搭载最大有效载荷时的最大范围只有1350公里。中国人想要至少3650公里，这是伊尔-76MD能达到的，甚至高达4000公里或以上。北京的另一个拒绝原因是考虑AN-70飞机所使用的D-27涡扇发动机加入中国空军服务。首先，中国人知道发动机处于刚出来的第一阶段，在乌克兰的An-70的飞行试验是相当不可靠的。除此之外（也许是更重要的是），他们决定在中国自己的工厂生产这样一个复杂的发动机这将是不可能的。中国军方要求使用久经考验的俄制D-30KP-2发动机，中国自己的厂家也已经开始研发自己的WS18。
ANTK安东诺夫说，中国的意愿是可以实现的。到2007年初，就成立了一个新的重型运输机（VTL）工作组，很快此前被搁置的AN-77就开了绿灯，一种以现有的AN-70使用涡轮喷气发动机开发一种重型运输机的版本。 （然而，据官方得知，ANTK安东诺夫作为安东诺夫国有企业的总公司，其仅仅是为涉及研发飞机的团队提供建议和咨询。）。飞机的起飞重量从132吨提高到187吨，其最大有效载荷从47上升到50吨。 （货舱的体积增加了，在主机翼前端增加一个两米的长的机身）。原来的安-77的设计使用4个CFM56-5A16涡扇发动机，在Y20上被替换为4个D-30KP-2型涡扇发动机。这架飞机保留了起飞和降落使用短跑道的能力，虽然起飞长度上升到900米。 （增加推力的解决方案是和增加安-77中使用的吹升襟翼，它首先在C-17A环球霸王III上引入，通过引导涡轮风扇发动机的高温喷射排气使高扬程襟翼获得升力。在安-70上通过SV-27桨扇吹出的空气流实现额外升力，它位于D-27发动机的轴上，产生空气流。）
在这个最初被指定为Y-XX的设计，持续了三年。人们普遍认为在2009年12月23日，由中国军事航空门户第一个公布了Y-XX的信息，当时已被重新命名为Y-20。报告中提到的Y-20军用运输机，由西安飞机工业（集团）总公司在中国发展。然而，事实上，第一个关于该项目的消息在2008年的秋天出现在俄罗斯航空航天新闻网站的讨论板比中国军事航空网站早将近一年时间。也就是新飞机的“解密”时间，在那篇文章发布的时候，它的规格仍然和IL-76十分相似，最大起飞重量200吨，最大有效载荷为50吨。预计第一大批量生产的原型飞机将配备俄制D-30KP-2发动机。更高版本的Y-20将配备中国的复刻发动机，WS-18或WS-118改，Y-20原型将在2012年首飞。
但在2010年进行了大范围的设计更改。其原因被认为是99-IIA类型也被称为99A2主战坦克已进入中国军队服务。该型坦克的战斗全重，和德国的豹IIA6有许多相似之处，达到58.8吨，使得Y20需要更大的有效载荷，即能够运中国现役的最重主战坦克。其结果是整个项目切换到一个不同的基本设计由ANTK安托诺夫设计的安-170，这是另一种An-70改进版本。AN-170是一种重型战略运输机，由安东诺夫在20世纪80年代末 - 90年代初设计。该项目是和伊留申设计局的IL-106竞争。苏联当局宣布获胜者是伊尔-106，但由于苏联解体而引发危机就再也没有新的飞机投产。AN-170是一种比安-70更大，更重的飞机，起飞重量230吨，最大载荷60吨。An-170另一个区别是定期》翼的专利，而安-70使用的是所谓的“超临界机翼”。 Y-20项目的最新版本仍然使用4个D-30KP-2型涡扇发动机。当然，这意味着，原设计优秀的短距离起飞和着陆性能现在出了问题，但有充分的理由相信，这些性能按照正常的标准还是相当不错的。
Y-20的发展似乎已接近尾声，虽然第一架原型机首飞的最后期限可能仍然可以推后一点。 2011年5月12日在新闻发布会上，XAIC自信地承诺，这架飞机将在中国共产党的第十八届代表大会首飞，后来推迟到今年晚些时候。但是压力使该新闻稿之后从该公司官网被移除。
Y-20项目赋予了D-30KP发动机新的生机，它是在雷宾斯克为IL-76型飞机制造的。 （该版本自1982年以来生产的D-30KP-2，它可以提供比其推力规格更高的周围空气温度）。尽管发动机已经生产很多年，成立于1963年，仍然在生产中这得感谢中国的客户。据NPO土星的新闻消息，俄罗斯国防出口公司与中国之间的合同签订的55 D-30KP-2发动机，将于2012年交付。 于2009年4月第一台下线，第一批于2009年11月交付给客户，随后在2010年3月之前交付另外三个批次，最后的第五批11台发动机于2011年3月交付。虽然这5个批次是足够的，以满足目前在中国的服务几乎所有的Il-76型飞机的换新的发动机。在2011年年底，中国签署了一个更大的订单。他们和NPO土星公司签署了184个新的D-30KM-2发动机的合同，4年时间交付。北京并没有说为什么它需要这些发动机的 - 但很明显，几乎所有的都将被安装在Y-20运输机上。
项目规格的中航重transport11 Y-20
最大有效载荷，吨60-65
最大速度，公里每小时750-800
实用升限13000米
服务范围与最大有效载荷4400公里
尺寸，M
长度49
翼展50
高度15
机翼表面平方米310
最大起飞重量220吨
空重100吨
涡扇发动机：C型号C ...发动机的推力 D-30KP-2型，4C 12000公斤（F）
乘员3
1。 A. Manyakin，A.福明。 KJ-2000。中国的天神之眼在天空/ Vzlyot，第11号，2009年。
2。 K. Chuprin，中国的力量在天空中，嘉实，明斯克，2007年。
3。 O. Sharifov，死循环的TAPOiCH /费尔干纳 - 国际新闻社2010年11月15日
4。 S.冈察洛夫。在零件/国防快，无7-8，2006年。
5。中国的军事装备和硬件。问题之一。坦克。 Otvaga.narod.ru互联网项目，萨兰斯克，2003年。
6。五，Shunkov。特殊用途的飞机，嘉实，明斯克，1999年。
7。航空和我vremya，1号，2010（全景段）。
8。 A. Berdnikov，中国的99A2型主战坦克/ Zarubezhnoye Voennoye Obozreniye，1号，2012年。
9。中国的新的重型运输可能采取的天空在2012 - 年6月28日，2011年 - 第五代飞机
10。 A.福明。俄罗斯航空发动机行业。年度业绩的计划/ Vzlyot的，第4号，2012年。
11。从下列来源：bmpd - 底盘为中国的Y-20未来的运输（bmpd - ），SATURN研究和生产公司编制的表。打印版本
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狗仔卡
发表于 2012-3-27 19:09
显身卡
楼主
发表于 2014-8-2 11:41