Following the debut of the American B-21 strike stealth bomber in December, the U.S. military demonstrated to the world that all three legs of its nuclear triad are undergoing strategic modernization efforts.
However, China has emulated the push to expand its nuclear weapons capabilities as it seeks to supersede the U.S. in military might.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF’s) “B-2 copycat” – the H-20 bomber – is expected to enter service within the decade.
Once commissioned, China’s first-ever nuclear-capable strategic bomber could reach targets within the United States.
This capability, in addition to the H-20’s weapons capacity and other unknowns, is deeply troubling.
While the U.S. B-2 Spirit remains the only operational stealth bomber in the world today, a PLA near-pear may soon enter the picture.
A brief history of the Xian H-20 bomber
Although China’s stealth bomber program was not officially recognized until 2016, the PLAAF likely began working on initial bomber designs in the early 2000s.
A top Northrop Grumman design engineer was charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act in 2005 after being caught selling B-2 bomber information to Beijing.
By 2013, Chinese aviation expert Andreas Ruppercht released renderings of models that emulated the development of a pending Chinese stealth bomber.
One year later, a state-run Chinese media outlet reported that the PLAAF was working on an “intercontinental strategic bomber capable of penetrating an enemy’s air defenses.” The Aviation Industry Corporation of China released a video in 2018 depicting a bomber underneath a drop cloth that is believed to be the H-20.