According to Chinese State media, China has conducted land-based mid-course missile interception test and tested its first domestically made jumbo airfreighter Yun-20.
New Delhi, Jan 28/Nationalturk – China has conducted land-based mid-course missile interception test and also successfully tested its first domestically made jumbo airfreighter Yun-20 or Transport-20, State media reported.
According to China’s Defense Ministry, China again successfully carried out a land-based mid-course missile interception test within its territory yesterday.
“The test has reached the preset goal. The test is defensive in nature and targets no other country,” an official said.
Media reports said China conducted missile defense tests in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on January 27, possibly creating a light show of rings and halos that was captured and circulated online. The pictures were taken around 8pm, which netizens explain shone brightly in the center and looked like a cloud of moisture. The light then changed quickly and the green light had a laser-like intensity
It has been the second time that China has announced such kind of missile test.
Earlier, on January 11, 2010, a similar anti-missile interception test was successfully conducted by Beijing.
Experts said such missile interception tests could build shield for China’s air defense by intercepting incoming warheads such as ballistic missiles in space.
China tested plane for long-distance transport of cargo, passengers
China on Saturday successfully tested its first domestically made jumbo airfreighter, Yun-20, or Transport-20, a multi-function plane for long-distance transport of cargo and passengers.
The multi-function air freighter can perform various long-distance transportation tasks.
“The successful maiden flight of the Y-20 is important in promoting China’s economic and national defense buildup, as well as improving its emergency response and humanitarian aid abilities,” China’s Ministry of National Defense said on its website adding that more experiments and test flights will be scheduled.
The official codename of the aircraft is Kunpeng, named after a legendary bird in Chinese mythology that can fly thousands of kilometers.
The jumbo air freighter is believed to have been developed by Xi’an Aircraft Industry, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corp of China, the major military aircraft manufacturer.
Large strategic air freighters in active service around the world include the Antonov An-225, the Ilyushin Il-76 and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.
The Y-20, with a crew of three, has a maximum payload of 66 metric tons and a maximum takeoff weight of more than 200 tons, China Youth Daily quoted military sources as saying. The high payload means the aircraft can fly the heaviest tank of the PLA — the 58-ton Type-99A2.
The length of the Y-20 is 47 meters and its wingspan is 50 meters, the report said.
“The successful maiden flight of the Y-20, China’s first domestically developed heavy air freighter, marks a step in the country’s goal of building a strategic air power,” said military experts and observers.
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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk Asia News
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