Areview by the United States Department of Defence intelligence services has provided a rare insight into the consensus in the Pentagon regarding the development of the world’s first non-American intercontinental range strategic stealth bomber developed - the Chinese H-20. The aircraft is projected to become operational some time in the 2030s, providing a significant leap in offensive capabilities for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force. The report elaborated regarding the program that the service “is seeking to extend its power projection capability with the development of a new H-20 stealth strategic bomber, with official PRC [People’s Republic of China] state media stating that this new stealth bomber will have a nuclear mission in addition to filling conventional roles,” and is “developing new medium- and long-range stealth bombers to strike regional and global targets.” Details on the medium range stealth bomber remain scarce, although it has been widely speculated that such an aircraft could be developed as an extended range derivative of the J-20 fifth generation fighter, which already has a very long range of close to 4000km using internal fuel.
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)]The Pentagon’s assessment further alluded to work by China on “developing a new generation of long-range bombers, likely named the H-20. The H-20, which may debut sometime in the next decade, will have a range of more than 10,000 km, enabling the PLAAF to cover the Second Island Chain and into the western region of the Pacific… The H-20 bomber’s range could be extended to cover the globe with aerial refuelling. It is expected to employ conventional and nuclear weaponry and feature a stealthy design.” The Second Island Chain referred to is an area of the western- and mid-Pacific to the west of a boundary between Japan and eastern Indonesia, which includes includes the U.S. territory of Guam where American military assets in the region are heavily concentrated. The H-20 is expected to be able to engage targets both with gravity bombs by flying near its targets, and by employing cruise and ballistic missiles when its targets are in more heavily defended airspace. Nuclear warheads are expected to be available for deployment using both bombs and missiles.
