The Hong-20, the newest Chinese long-range nuclear-capable strategic bomber is likely to be revealed during the parade for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) 70th anniversary in 2019, according to Chinese media.
Despite Chinese media claims there is no official statement or confirmation by the Chinese government or military.
The existence of the bomber program was confirmed by PLAAF commander Gen. Ma Xiaotian in 2016.
Andreas Rupprecht speculated in the Jamestown Foundation’s report that the jet has been under development since the late 1990s or early 2000s.
According to more analyst speculation, cited by the Defence blog, the H-20 bomber is likely to make its first flight soon. This is further reinforced by Chinese state television’s confirmation that the aircraft will be ready to fly in the near future.
During an evening gala for China’s strategic bomber division, there was a new logo which included a silhouette of an unknown aircraft. The gala was held on October 7 at an unspecified strategic bomber division under the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command, the official PLA Air Force website reported on October 11th.
The Global Times reported that speculations of the reveal came after a “morale-boosting gala” held by China’s strategic bomber division in which “the silhouette of a mysterious aircraft appeared” in a logo displayed on a big screen.
On October 10th, the Global Times also cited Chinese military experts who claimed that the H-20 would make its maiden flight soon. “The trial flight will come soon,” Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert said.
According to the Chinese outlet, in August, China Central Television released a documentary disclosing that the H-20 is called Hong-20, meaning “bomber aircraft” in Chinese.
Business Insider also reported that China may have been teasing the H-20 in May 2018, when it released a possible video of the bomber under a sheet, which looked like a B-21 Raider.
According to the Diplomat, details about the H-20’s design and capabilities remain limited. However, there is a broad belief that the new aircraft, developed by Xi’an Aircraft Industrial Corporation (XAC), will have a stealthy flying wing design with an internal weapons bay similar to the U.S. Air Force’s B-2 Spirit bomber.
The PLAAF’s basic requirement for an aircraft to be designated a strategic bomber is a minimum range of 8,000 km (5,000 miles) without refueling and the capacity to carry a payload of more than 10 tons of air-to-ground munitions. According to the Diplomat, it is estimated that the new bomber could enter service with the PLAAF as early as 2025.
None of the speculations over the unveiling have been confirmed by Chinese government or military as of yet. However, China has claimed some significant progress in other areas of its military such as aircraft carriers, missiles and even development of unmanned submarines. Considering all of that, it wouldn’t be surprising if they unveil the new stealth bomber at an advanced stage of development.
Well take your time China. What, 20 years to crawl to some end? Some sort of plane? This, from a country that is completely incapable of designing a worthwhile aircraft engine. Really, the Chinese military is an empty bag of wind. Russia stands in the sharpest contrast.
I bet on a plane looking like a Russian or US plane, but uglier and weaker.
Chinese copy of US F35 seems to be far superior because Chinese are not idiots and didn’t replicated that stupid vertical landing blower and installed second engine instead, so their design wil be probably much more agile, faster, capable and reliable. But keep your ignorant narrative if you wish.
You forgot to mention that i’m a racist. Nobody buys that stuff.
also tudor miron makes copies of western cars, from paper and PVC. these chise planes are aliminium copes. still better then iranian copies of 60 years old american planes :)))
Even if the Chinese plane is inferior, and I’m not saying it is, but even if you are right, and they have 1000 for every American plane, who do you think will win?
As an example, during WWII German planes were much better than American planes, but the Germans simply couldn’t shoot down all the bombers the US sent. It’s not just about technology, it’s about manufacturing capability.
You need 20 years of updates. China reversed engineered probably every fighter jet and bomber and helicopter you can imagine. starting with fighter Su27 (shenyang 11) and his Su30 naval version (shenyang 15) for which they reverse engineered even with whole carrier (Type 001), continuing with training jet Yak 130 (ghongdu l 15), produced even sooner then Russian original, to the state of the art B2 stealth bomber (see the article) and even F35 (shenyang j31)
Only totally arrogant and dumb idiot can say that China doesn’t have very advanced designs and production capacity. They are may be one step behind after top russian and US technology like russian Su-57 or F22 but how many have Rusia and USA in production ? 10 pieces of SU-57 ? 100 F22 ? And how many Chinese industry can produce ? 10.000 ? 100.000 ? Or even more ?
Russia does not have an urgency to mass produce Suk 57, they are quite confident that integrated air defense systems employing Suk 35 can take care of the F-22.
russia has no money, boy!
You are such a joke, Russia has more real money than US’ printed monopoly money. Have you heard they commissioned for construction 3 Lider class nuclear powered “icebreakers” at 1.5 billion each, to muzzle those naysayers that kept repeating your imaginary delusion. Russian federal budget is doing rather well having been adjusted to break even for oil prices in the low 50’s. FYO Russia is raking in the oil loot.
i see, you have no money for new baykonur, for weapons, for development of industry, for salaries, etc.
Foreign reserves are almost 500 billion, Russia has clear advantage in nuclear and conventional weapons over US, Russia is becoming self sufficient from the west and the dollar ponzi scheme.
reservs are reserv, boy. this is not for use
russia is very much behind usa in weapons technology,. you did not have one shitty rescue submarine to save the marines from kursk. dozens of developed countries have such little submarines. the great sovieunion*russia has no single one!!! still today!!!! you are shithil, gas station, nothing else. when oil prices went dwnm, you almost collapsed. after oil era you will eat grass
You got that wrong wigger, Russia has cash, America has debt. Money talks, BS walks.
debt is nothing.
russia has no cashflow. try to live so, no debts, no money in pocket :P
Exactly Russia does defense, the US does invasion.
Russian Su-57 is 2 steps begind F-22
Maybe, when the F-22 can actually fly, but they spend most of their lives being maintained. In fact virtually all American equipment is designed to need constant maintenance. That’s why nearly a quarter of the US F22 fleet couldn’t escape the hurricane. A plane should be able to fly, something the new American planes have difficulty doing.
bs. f22 could escape, the mistake made one officer.
You are correct about the the state of U.S. hardware and about the Russians. No argument. But this all does not excure the weak state of the Chinese military. Excepting the surface navy, China has not lived up to its potential. China has the engineering and manufacturing capability. And the money. But not the will.
The fact is the Chinese don’t actually make much. Excepting their surface navy which is impressive. They don’t have aircraft or submarines or tanks, or air defence systems or electronic warfare devices to match Russia. China after 40 years can’t make decent aircraft engines. Their military sits around, not combat ready or tested. Unlike Russia which has rotated its officeriate through Syria. China fails to match Russia in large scale military drills. It a paper military. A total lack of long range nuclear missiles. Years from a decent bomber. Radars are a decade old.
Seeing all those T-62s at the Vostok18 exercise might says otherwise https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ea84edeb3583cd0d5fb1836e37d281ee35ee5372a543adea6d60b75e42b78456.jpg https://medium.com/dfrlab/putinatwar-soviet-tanks-reactivated-in-russias-east-a81a111051a1
Chinese Type 99G tanks in the foreground (125 mm. gun), Type 86 infantry fighting vehicles in the second row (BMP-1 clone). Russian T-80 tanks (125 mm.) in the third row and MTLB armored personnel carriers/prime movers and trucks in the background. The Type 99G is considered comparable to the Leclerc, Challenger II, Ariete, Leopard 2A7 and M1A2 MBTs in terms of firepower, protection and mobility. US and NATO lapdogs must have been green with envy when assessing this giant military exercise, the largest since the Warsaw Pact Zapad 81 in 1981.
Sorry, but ancient Russian T-62s don’t cut the mustard. My point is simply that China is not deploying its considerable engineering and manufacturing abilities in the military field. With the exception of their surface navy. But elsewise they are not impressive. Could be otherwise, but not right now.
Do you know that the US could not build war worthy aircraft engines prior to WWII. Britain sent designers to the US. The engine in the P51 Mustang is actually a simplified version of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine used in the British Spitfire. After WWII most of the American advances came from designs stolen from Germany, and German scientists the US kidnapped and used as forced labour. Most of the golden age American planes and missiles of the 60’s and 70’s were actually designed by those prisoners. That’s how America learned how to build jet engines, German prisoners.
Today those Germans are dead, and the US struggles to build advanced planes and missiles. The US started on the F35 in 1992, 26 years ago, 26 years to build a plane, let that sink in George Bush senior was President back then.
10 tons payload for a strategic bomber is negligible, why do current and next generation bombers be stealth? Slealth can be identified and targeted from the ground, and reduces the capabilities of the aircraft. Consider Tu 160, a beautiful and a very capable bomber that surpasses, B1, B2, H20…..etc.
these guys are supposed to carry nuclear weapons…
Do you think Tu-160 is limited to conventional weapons?
Tu 160 is absolutely different kind of strategic bomber. B2 and his Chinese counterpart is stealthy and subsonic and Tu 160 is not stealthy and supersonic.
Tu160 can deploy a lot faster flying at Mach 2, using nuclear standoff weapons Kh102 plus gravity nuclear bombs, has the twice the payload of the B2, while B2lacks standoff capability and has to fly over the target to deliver its weapons. Stealth is a mere fig leaf against Russian continental air defenses.
tu160 is a weak copy of b-1
The USA, does not have radars that can see stealth aircraft. Don’t confuse Russian tech with American tech.
Yes US is currently unable to detect stealth except for IRST, I personally view subsonic wing shaped stealth aircraft as clumsy and awkward; with the advent of hypersonic missiles or Mach +3 cruise missiles the Chinese should realize that a standoff weapon with adequate payload 30-40 tons capacity should be sufficient.
Is there anything China does not copy?
I doubt. But I know couple examples when Chinese something copied LEGALLY and payed license fees. They did it maybe twoo or three times in the history LOL.
The US F-15 is a copy of Mig-31 but it cannot reach to Mig-31 in performance. I know how US have stolen the USSR and Russian technology.
Thanks for the added info on the F-15 and Mig-31. On a note related to trade secrets, I read Israel sells a lot of US tech to China as well – legally or not.
China’s contributions are many, never said otherwise. I was referring to their modern military tech. Agreed on the nefarious effects of US-made products.
my dog
You could say the same about the USA, at least China seems to be giving some recognition of the original designers of the HO229, by calling it the HO20.
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/warthunder/images/2/2d/Shot-2014.07.01-18.48.04.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141013152651
You have a most valid point as a lot of German military tech made its way to the US after WW2 – both in terms of brain and hardware.
German slaves, they were given a choice, come to the US as a slave, or we will kill you.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g1rXYpkENeA Russia Military Capability 2019: Quick Victory – Russian Armed Forces 2019 – Вооруженные силы России
Hmm. If WW3 starts, it will be very quick. First nuke to Yellowstone and half of the world will be wiped out. The problem is what to do next 30-70 years. What to eat, where to hide, what kind of energy use and how to rebuild the world after radiation decrease. Those are the important questions. I don’t know how good nuclear vaults have Rothschilds but probably quite good. So the next important question is how to protect the postnuclear world from Rothschilds to prevent WW4.
The evil encroachers like UK, US, Saudis that have created different terrorist groups like Israel, ISIS, Al-Qaeda etc in our world will fight with good people which will create world war 3. They butcher any journalist that expose them like Jamal Khashoggi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI-kv5M2uRE
Please research the facts. Jamal Khashoggi was no “journalist”. Aside from being deeply rooted in the Saudi secret service, he supported both the (British) Muslim Brotherhood and (British) Israel. He was also the nephew of Adnan Khashoggi, the infamous arms dealer.
Mach 5 is more than 6000 kph.
You are absolutely correct. I will now correct it. Thanks.
hidden before russian radars?
No, you see Russia has anti-stealth radar, but the US does not. The US is slipping further behind everyday. You rave about the latest and greatest F35, but it was designed a quarter of a century ago, and took its first flight in 2006.
russia has shit, not anti stealth radar :DDD