US territory within range of Beijing’s new stealth jet
A new Chinese stealth bomber will give the country a ‘‘truly intercontinental capability’’ including the ability to strike US territory, leading Western analysts have claimed.
Armed with nuclear missiles, the H-20 bomber-marks a ‘‘major break’’ from China’s status as only a regional power, the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies said in a review of Russian and Chinese air force development.
China has not unveiled the H-20 jet but it is at the centre of sweeping plans to upgrade its air power. The jet is due to replace the H-6 model as a nuclear-capable stealth bomber to rival the American B-2 series, whose wing design helps it to evade detection by radar.
However, the institute said there were ‘‘significant questions around China’s ability to produce engines with the dry thrust capacity for a true B-2 class aircraft.’’ It is nonetheless ‘‘fairly far along in development terms,’’ the report said.
The new bomber, which has been in development since 2016, is said to be capable of flying up to 8000km without refuelling, allowing it to reach beyond the second island chain around China, including Japan, Guam and the US Mariana Islands, from bases on the mainland.
Other reports suggest that it could cover more than 12,000km, allowing it to strike Hawaii. The American B-2 can travel about 10,000km.
Chinese hackers were accused in 2015 of stealing US stealth aircraft technology. Song Zhongping, a former instructor with the People’s Liberation Army, told the South China Morning Post that the H-20 had been designed to reach US territory as part of China’s nuclear triad, which also includes ground and sea-launched missiles.