Air Force Recruitment Exam Candidates' Comprehensive Quality Steadily Improves, Will Use Y-20B for the First Time to Transport New Flight Students

On July 30, Xinhua News Agency reported from Beijing (Gao Yujiao, Jiang Huafeng) that the Air Force Recruitment Bureau has learned that the comprehensive quality of candidates admitted to the Air Force in 2026 has steadily improved. According to the plan, new flight students will be concentrated and transported to the Air Force Aviation University for registration on July 31 and August 1, and for the first time, the Y-20B will be used to participate in this task.

According to a relevant person in charge of the Air Force Recruitment Bureau, the enthusiasm of eligible youth nationwide to apply for Air Force recruitment in 2026 remains high, with applicants covering all prefecture-level administrative regions. The admitted candidates come from 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), and the average college entrance examination scores have reached a historic high, with high school students from county areas accounting for 46%. Among them, 82 candidates from 15 ethnic minorities have realized their dream of flying. This year, the Air Force recruitment selection work has further improved the scientific accuracy of assessments by introducing big data and artificial intelligence-assisted evaluations, establishing a comprehensive evaluation system for physical fitness, flight potential, and psychological quality, transitioning from single ability assessments to a comprehensive capability "portrait," and steadily enhancing the overall quality of admitted candidates, providing strong foundational support for strengthening the Air Force's flight personnel team.

It is understood that to encourage the newly admitted flight students to pursue their dreams of flying with high spirits, the Air Force will use multiple Y-20 aircraft on July 31 and August 1 to concentrate and transport the new flight students to the Air Force Aviation University for registration from six boarding points: Shenyang, Shijiazhuang, Jinan, Nanjing, Changsha, and Chengdu. In addition, the Air Force has also invited over a hundred parent representatives of the students to fly together. Upon arriving at the Air Force Aviation University, they will visit the learning, training, and living areas of the flight students to experience the new look of the Air Force's flight talent training firsthand.

Since 2022, the Air Force has used domestically produced large transport aircraft to transport new flight students for enrollment for five consecutive years. This year, for the first time, the Y-20B, equipped with a new type of domestically produced engine, has participated in this task, becoming a vivid epitome of the parallel development of the People's Air Force's equipment and flight talent training.