Chinese YU-20 Tanker Refuels J-15 Carrier-based Fighter for the First Time

A Chinese J-15 carrier-based fighter refueled the YU-20 tanker aircraft for the first time.

The undated exercise was revealed for the first time in a documentary program jointly produced by the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission, China Media Group and the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission. The program was aired on Tuesday in celebration of China's Army Day.

During their first in-flight refueling exercise, the J-15 fighter jet “accurately” connected its refuel probe to a YU-20 aerial tanker's drogue.

Previously, the YU-20 aerial tanker of the PLA Air Force had only been known to provide aerial refueling to other air force aircraft including J-10C, J-16 and J-20 fighter jets, while the J-15 carrier-based fighter jet of the PLA Navy was only revealed to have conducted buddy refueling, which means converting a J-15 fighter jet into a tanker by equipping it with an aerial refueling pod.

“Compared with buddy refueling, dedicated land-based large tanker aircraft can carry much more fuel and do not occupy precious carrier-based fighter jets and resources on aircraft carriers,” Wang Ya'nan, the chief editor of the Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The YU-20 itself has a very long range, so it can provide refueling services to carrier-based aircraft and support them in complex long-range, long-endurance missions, and maximize the potential of aircraft carrier groups, Wang said.