China’s H-20 stealth bomber will give PLA ‘truly intercontinental’ strike capacity, says report
- Royal United Services Institute says the plane will allow China to extend its strike range far beyond its own shores
- Subsonic jet will mark a ‘major break’ with current capacity and could allow it to target US bases further afield
China’s subsonic H-20 stealth bomber will give the country a “truly intercontinental” capacity expanding its reach far beyond the country’s seaboard, according to a report by a leading think tank.
The bomber is still under development but the Pentagon believes that when completed it will be able to target US overseas territories such as Guam, while other analysts believe its range will bring Hawaii within reach.
The report by the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies gave an overview of how Russia and China were developing their air forces, including next-generation planes and new weapons.
“Armed with nuclear and conventional stand-off missiles, the H-20 would represent a major break from previous PLAAF (PLA Air Force) doctrine and equipment development practice,” said the report released in late October.
It added that the PLA air force is currently configured as a regional force which is capable of penetrating the first island chain – a series of archipelagos in the Pacific stretching from the Kuril Islands, through Japan and on to the Philippines.