The People's Liberation Army Air Force has commissioned the YY-20, a large aerial refueling aircraft, which observers said will extensively enhance the service's operational capability.

Senior Colonel Shen Jinke, spokesman for the PLA Air Force, said at a news conference on Sunday in Beijing that the YY-20 tanker aircraft recently carried out aerial refueling exercises with the J-16 strike fighter above the sea, and the operations helped to improve combat training.

The tanker is a variant of China's Y-20 strategic transport plane. Like the Y-20, the new tanker is a product of the State-owned defense contractor Aviation Industry Corp of China.

As China's latest aerial refueling hardware, the YY-20 can effectively strengthen the PLA Air Force's long-range mobile capability and, like the Y-20, can also undertake personnel and cargo transportation tasks, Shen said.

This was the first time that the Chinese military confirmed the existence of the YY-20, though the plane has already appeared in information published by Taiwan defense authorities that claimed the YY-20 has taken part in at least two patrol operations over the Taiwan Straits.

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