In 2019, Serbia bought a FK- 3 from China. It was a sign of deepening ties between Belgrade and Beijing. On 8th April Turkish residents reported that six Y-20 aircraft were first spotted heading west in Turkey airspace. Later that night, bulgerian residents took photos of the Y-20s, which allegedly landed in Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade. The golbal times says that the Serbia’s secret mission is still unknown. thedrive.com speculates the  six FK-3 aircrafts delivered to Serbia by China are export version of Chinese HQ- 22. Excat happenings of the event and the pictures of the six Y-20s which was captured by the Bulgarian residents are uploded in the US news website thedrive.com

Y-20 is a heavy cargo aircraft. Analysts told the media that the cargo must be very large and heavy which required as many as six Y-20s. The mission of carrying six Y -20s came to play just after President Xi Jinping congratulated Aleksandar Vucic who was re-elected Serbian President earlier this month. Also, the Russian president Putin cangratulated Vucic, for being on Russia’s side during the Ukraine invasion. The delivery comes in the backdrop of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and western worries over an arms build-up in the Balkan region.

The deployment of the Y-20 fleet has been interpreted as a show of China’s strategic reach amid the turmoil in Ukraine in which Beijing has turned up as a staunch ally of Russia, refusing to criticise Moscow’s invasion of Kyiv.