Several military transport planes belonging to the Chinese armed forces landed at the Serbian capital's airport over the weekend. This is the in-house development of the Xian Y-20, which has a capacity of up to 66 tons.

On Saturday the 20041, 20042, 20045, 20047, 20049 and 20142 were in action. Vans of this type were also on their way from China to Belgrade on Sunday. Some of the planes have already returned to China or are on their way back to the People's Republic. A short video can be found for example here.

The Xian Y-20 is a high-wing aircraft developed in China, which only completed its maiden flight in 2013. This model is powered by four Solovyov D-30KP-2 engines. With the 11051 and 11052, the Chinese armed forces put the first two examples into service in 2016.

In view of the tense situation in Ukraine and the fact that Serbia is currently trying to find a balancing act between relations with Russia and Ukraine, there is speculation, especially on social media, that China has flown weapons and/or troops to Belgrade. The People's Republic and Serbia concluded a purchase agreement for the acquisition of various military goods a long time ago. These are not related to the current situation in Ukraine, as the papers were signed several years ago.

Observers at Belgrade Airport noted that at least some aircraft had had their chaff and flare countermeasure systems covers removed. It looks very much like they were equipped with countermeasures that would anticipate some kind of potential threat. What that threat would have been is not clear.

The Serbian armed forces told local media, among other things, that there were HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems on board the Chinese freighter. These were ordered around two years ago and official information has now been delivered. Serbia reportedly chose the HQ-22 over its Russian counterpart, the S-300, in a surprise move. However, the cost of the systems may have been an important factor.