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© GeoEye GeoEye 1The Y-20 at Yanliang on Jan. 1.
A week after the publication of blurry photographs depicting what appears to be China's first long-range jet transport, Danger Room has obtained satellite imagery of the new plane at an airfield in central China.

The images, acquired by the GeoEye 1 and IKONOS spacecraft - both belonging to commercial satellite operator GeoEye headquartered in Washington, D.C. - corroborate the general layout of the Xian Aircraft Corporation Y-20, the existence of which has been confirmed by Beijing. They also underscore the emerging consensus among Western experts that the Y-20, while outwardly impressive, could lack the performance of even much older American, Russian and European transports.

The IKONOS image (below) is dated Dec. 25. It shows the Y-20 outside a large hangar at Yanliang airfield, home of the People's Liberation Army Air Force's test establishment. The base is crowded with examples of the PLAAF's other main transports, including Y-8 medium airlifters and, apparently, tanker versions of the aged H-6 bomber - both types of which could in theory be replaced by the Y-20, ostensibly giving China the same global military reach the U.S. and other advanced nations have enjoyed for half a century.

The GeoEye 1 photo from Jan. 1 (above) depicts the new transport, which isn't known to have flown yet, on one of Yanliang's runways, surrounded by people and vehicles. News reports have claimed the Y-20 is currently undergoing runway taxi tests in preparation for its eventual first flight.

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