China's giant Y-20 airlifter expected to enter service this year

China's Xian Y-20 military airlifter is expected to finish flight tests and be put into service with the People's Liberation Army this year, according to a report from the official Communist Party newspaper People's Daily.

People's Daily reported the assessment cames from Xu Yongling, a military expert who said the test flight period for large aircraft is generally between three and five years and since no bottlenecks occurred during development or manufacturing of the Y-20, it will be put into use this year.

The Y-20, designated as the Kunpeng, performed its first flight in 2013. It has a cargo capacity of about 72 tons and is a 200-ton-class transport. It has a cruise speed of about 570.4 miles per hour and a range of more than 2,700 miles while carrying a maximum load.

The report noted that China is now one of only four makers of very large military cargo aircraft. The others are the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.

"This is not only progress for China's national defense industry, but also a milestone of industrial and military modernization," Xu said.