Chinese Airforce: China Conducting Final Tests Of Xian H-20 Aircraft

A computer-generated image of the Xian H-20 stealth bomber.  |  Photo Credit: Twitter

Key Highlights

• Images depict an aircraft with a flying wing design designed to prioritise stealth over speed

• A South China Morning Post report has also speculated that the H-20 will have a payload capacity of 45 tonnes, markedly higher than the B-52H Stratofortress' 35 tonnes and the B-2 Spirit's 20 tonnes

• The H-20 is also not believed to be a successor to China's Xian H-6 which itself, was designed based on the Soviet Tu-16 heavy bomber

China is, reportedly, conducting final trials of its mysterious Xian H-20 strategic stealth bomber at its Hotan airbase, near eastern Ladakh. According to some sources, the H-20 bomber is seen as a crucial asset in tilting the balance of power in China's favour at the Sino-Indian border but it remains unclear when the aircraft will be fully operational.

The trials, reportedly, commenced on June 8 and are expected to last until June 22 which, incidentally, also marks the 100th year of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

China has kept the details of the H-20 bomber under wraps so, in truth, not much is known about the aircraft. The first reports that China was developing a strategic bomber emerged in 2016, and others indicate that China plans to begin mass production of the aircraft in the mid-2020s.

While it has yet to make a public appearance, the aircraft is reported to be a large subsonic stealth bomber resembling the US' B2-Spirit and the projected Russian PAK DA and the B-21 Raider. Earlier this year, Modern Weaponry – a magazine published by Chinese state-owned defence major Norinco – included four computer-generated images of the bomber.

Like previously released pictures (from unofficial sources), the images depict an aircraft with a flying wing design designed to prioritise stealth over speed. Observers speculate that the bomber's sleek design, enabling it to avoid radar detection, could increase its survivability inside Taiwan's air-defence network. The bomber may also be equipped with next-generation hypersonic cruise missiles. It is also speculated that the bomber will carry the indigenously produced WS-10 engine.

What China intends for its H-20 bomber is still unknown. A South China Morning Post report has also speculated that the H-20 will have a payload capacity of 45 tonnes, markedly higher than the B-52H Stratofortress' 35 tonnes and the B-2 Spirit's 20 tonnes. The report quotes unnamed sources who claim the bomber will have a range of, at least, 12,000 kilometres which will, crucially, place Hawaii within its reach. If the bomber embarked on an Arctic route, all 50 US states would be within its flying range. RELATED NEWS India, China, Pakistan appear to be expanding their nuclear arsenals: SIPRI study Galwan anniversary: India pays homage, Cong seeks justice for martyrs; China says ‘it promotes border talks' China's silencing of Tiananmen tributes extends to Hong Kong

The H-20 is also not believed to be a successor to China's Xian H-6 which itself, was designed based on the Soviet Tu-16 heavy bomber. But according to military expert Jon Grevatt, who spoke with the South China Morning Post, the bomber “will be able to strike targets a long distance away, perhaps in the second island chain and beyond.”

The second island chain is a term commonly used to refer to the geographies that lie between Japan and Micronesia. Beijing's island-chain concept is, reportedly, premised on the US' Cold War-era strategies. Specifically, this means that the H-20 bomber could target US assets like its military base in Guam.

Some suggest that the H-20 could also undertake vital suppression-of-enemy-air-defence (SEAD) missions – some of the most challenging in air combat. It may be used to take out radar capabilities and ground defences like missile units.

However, it is worth noting that China has already addressed its SEAD issue over the years, having developed one of the world' most powerful non-nuclear rocket arsenals, that include hundreds of short, medium and long-range ballistic missiles, all of which can be fired painlessly from within the Mainland's borders.