Total mystery: As the US develops state-of-the-art military platforms, China is advancing its own, including the Xi’an H-20 stealth bomber, which threatens Washington’s air superiority.

– The H-20, under development since the early 2000s, is estimated to have a range of 8,500 kilometers, which presents potential coverage in US allied territories.

-However, the US Air Force’s B-21 Raider, with improved stealth and modular upgrades, aims to maintain America’s advantage.

-While U.S. officials are not overly concerned about the H-20’s capabilities, China’s broader military expansion, including a growing nuclear arsenal, raises concerns as tensions between the two powers escalate.

China’s H-20 Stealth Bomber: A New Threat to US Air Superiority?

The US places a high priority on the development of next-generation platforms. From bombers and fighter jets to submarines and main battle tanks, Washington is modernizing military technologies across the board.

But the US is not alone in the effort. Washington’s adversaries are also preparing to introduce more advanced military platforms. The People’s Republic of China is currently working on its own sixth-generation stealth bomber, threatening the monopoly that Washington has maintained in the aviation arena for many years.

Beijing’s future Xi’an H-20 stealth bomber it’s designed to threaten America’s own arsenal, but American officials apparently aren’t too concerned. This week, a defense official noted that the H-20 exemplifies China’s desire to be considered a top military power. But having the stealth bomber “doesn’t necessarily mean that it actually provides (Beijing) the kind of capability that it would need or in the amount that it would need.”

What we know about the H-20

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) revealed in 2016 that China was working on a new type of long-range bomber. The officials confirmed this program two years later, adding that bomber development was making “great progress”.

US analysts have good reason to believe that the PLAAF actually began working on bomber projects in the early 2000s. One of Northrop Grumman’s lead engineers on the B-2 bomber project, Noshir Gowadia, was defendant in 2005 for selling platform information to China. In 2013, Andreas Rupprecht, a Chinese aviation expert, published renderings of prototypes that suggested the development of a pending Chinese stealth bomber. With these events in mind, the H-20 program has been in the works for some time.

In 2018, Aviation Industry Corporation of China launched video footage of an aircraft under a drop – it is assumed that this was the H-20 bomber. Although it may have been just a mock-up, the footage suggested that the PLAAF was indeed making progress on the bomber front.

Very little is known about China’s new bomber, but the PRC is undoubtedly working to achieve full air superiority. Western analysts believe that the H-20 could have a range of 8,500 kilometers, which is watching because a bomber with this range could reach beyond the first chain of islands off the coast of China and into the Philippines, Japan, or even the US territory of Guam.

How does it compare to the future B-21?

The US Air Force is racing to complete its B-21 stealth bomber. Designed as a successor to the B-52 Stratofortress, B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit, this sixth-generation bomber will fulfill multiple roles, also acting as an intelligence gatherer and stealth fighter manager.

While the Air Force’s existing bombers are already formidable, RaiderThe new technologies will help the service maintain an edge over future competing platforms such as the H-20.

Like China’s bomber, little detail has been released about the new platform. Analysts assume certain features based on publicly released renderings and footage of the platform. The new bomber may have a smaller frame than its predecessors, making enemy aircraft harder to detect on radar. In addition, the Raider it will reportedly incorporate modular systems that will allow for upgrades as future technologies become available. Similar to the data link connectivity included in the F-35 Lightning II, this will serve as a further cost saving measure.

While US officials may not express much concern about the H-20’s progress, China’s overall military expansion is worrisome. As part of the effort, Beijing is expanding its nuclear portfolio. Analysts believe that China has already amassed an operational stockpile of at least 500 nuclear warheads.

As tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to rise, a serious look at these capabilities is important. US officials hope their Chinese counterparts are exaggerating claims about their military systems. Rampant corruption could also undermine the evolution of China’s true military prowess.

About the author: Maya Carlin, defense expert

Maya Carlinnational security writer with The National Interest, is an analyst at the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has written for many publications, including The National Interest, the Jerusalem Post, and the Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has more than 1,000 articles published in recent years on various defense issues.

Image credit: Creative Commons and/or Shutterstock

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