China has ambitions to develop stealth aircraft.

(Baonghean.vn) - China's new strategic stealth bomber development project, codenamed H-20, has been underway for the past five years, with the overall design reportedly nearing completion.

Beijing harbors ambitions for its H-20 strategic bomber to be able to fly near the US West Coast, from where it can strike US targets with conventional missiles or cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads.

With this objective in mind, the H-20 would be a significant leap forward from the H-6 bomber fleet currently deployed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). For the H-6, a major obstacle to its offensive capabilities is its massive airframe and limited range.

A new Chinese bomber, believed to be a prototype of the H-20. Photo: CCTV.

Analysts believe the H-20 has an operational radius of 5000 km and can carry a payload of 25-30 tons, thus enabling it to carry a variety of missiles, such as the KD-20 air-to-ground cruise missile, the air-launched version of the CJ-10 missile.

The H-20 had to be able to fly close enough to US territory, so that the target would be within range of the KD-20 missiles, while ensuring the aircraft would not appear on the long-range radar screens of the US military. Therefore, the key was the design of its stealth coating.

According to the defense magazine Kanwa Defense Review, Chinese engineers are also conducting in-depth research on the Soviet-made Tupolev Tu-160 supersonic bomber, so it would not be surprising if the final design of the H-20 has some similarities to the Tu-160.

Despite its limitations, the H-20 is considered capable of bombing US overseas territories such as Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan.

Lan Ha

(According to Asia Times)