China has abandoned its plan to use its home grown Xian Y-20 military transport aircraft to launch satellites into orbit from flight, and will instead use Ukraine's Antonov An-225 Mriya -- the world's biggest aircraft -- for this purpose.

The stunning turnaround was made after the Airspace Industry Corporation of China (AICC) signed an agreement with Antonov State Company allowing AICC to build the An-225s, which will be used to launch commercial satellites into orbit. The deal has to be approved by the governments of both countries, however.

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Before the deal with Antonov, Beijing had made public in March its intention to use the Y-20 to launch satellites.

Nicknamed "Chubby Girl," the Y-20 entered service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in June 2016 and is now being mass produced. The plane was to have been modified to accommodate missiles or rockets weighing from 100 kg to 200 kg as part of China's air launched rocket program.

The rockets will carry satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). The military application of the program is classified but pundits believe the Y-20 might be used as a launch platform for anti-satellite missiles (ASATs).

The program is a joint effort between China and Ukraine, with the latter assisting in the development of the air launched rocket.

State-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has been involved in the air launching project for over a decade. It's spearheading development work on the air-launched rocket, and has the capability to do so as the primary contractor for China's military-owned space program.

The Y-20 is Asia's largest transport aircraft and is also the largest military aircraft currently in production. It can loft 40 short tons of cargo 4,850 miles and 73 short tons 2,800 miles.

As for the An-225, AICC president Zhang Yousheng said his company is working on a strategy to mount a satellite on the back of an An-225 and launch it from an altitude of no more than 12,000 meters.

This method will "greatly reduce launch costs," said Yousheng.

The An-225 measures 84 meters long; has an 88 meter wingspan and is capable of carrying a payload equivalent to 189,600 kg.