Chinese YY-20 refuels Egyptian Rafale in midair
A Chinese YY-20 tanker aircraft refueled an Egyptian French-made Rafale fighter jet in midair during the joint Eagles of Civilisation 2026 exercise. Egyptian military officials released a photograph of the operation on Monday, reports the South China Morning Post.
The exercises, which began last month, are being held at several air bases in Egypt. The YY-20, also known as the YU-20, is an aerial refueling version of China's Y-20 strategic transport aircraft. It is designed to increase the flight range and airborne time of other aircraft.
Aircraft compatibility
The Rafale likely became the first Western-made fighter jet publicly documented receiving fuel from a Chinese tanker aircraft. During last year's Eagles of Civilisation exercises, a YY-20A refueled Egyptian Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets.
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Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of the Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told Global Times that the YY-20 and Rafale are “highly compatible” because both use the hose-and-drogue refueling system. Under this system, the tanker aircraft deploys a hose with a cone-shaped device that connects to a probe on the receiving aircraft. Wang noted that a more difficult task is coordinating crew procedures, including approaches, altitude, speed and docking maneuvers.
Long-range flights and export prospects
During this year's maneuvers, Chinese J-16 fighter jets flew 6,000 kilometers to Egypt using refueling from the YY-20. According to the official account of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force, the YY-20A also served as an airborne command node during the deployment.
Michael Bosack, director of the Parley Policy Institute, believes that demonstrating the refueling of foreign aircraft could strengthen interoperability capabilities among different air forces and potentially increase the YY-20's export appeal. At the same time, he stressed that there are no concrete signs of Beijing's plans to export the aircraft. According to him, sustained operational interoperability requires regular aerial refueling exercises, effective communication and synchronization between crews.
