When six Chinese heavy transport planes entered European airspace in April 2022, it was not just their cargo that drew international attention. Bound for Serbia, the Y-20 aircraft had flown thousands of kilometres from China carrying components of the Chinese-made FK-3 surface-to-air missile system. A second wave of six aircraft followed, bringing the operation to 12 sorties in what was then China’s biggest overseas airlift involving the strategic cargo plane. Coming just weeks after Russia...