H-20 bomber (with H-X, JH-XX)

Known Facts:

1. The H-20 does indeed exist, but its development has been delayed due to redesign. This is unlikely attributable to design or industrial issues, but more likely because advancements in other areas have rendered the original design obsolete.

2. China already possesses the Malan GJ-X, an unmanned stealth flying wing bomber comparable in size to the B-21. This indicates that, in terms of requirements, a platform capable of executing conventional strike missions in 2IC– from bombs to stand-off air-launched weapons – is already in existence.


Widely Accepted Speculation:

1. The H-20 is a manned, stealth, subsonic bomber.

2. There are no credible rumours suggesting a flying wing configuration.


Credible Rumours:

ShiLao claimed: ‘Redesigning the H-20 because of the JingLei-1... is backwards... though not entirely incorrect.’



China's deficiencies:

Relatively low-cost strike capabilities beyond the second island chain, and enhanced nuclear deterrence against the US mainland (GJ-X for the second island chain).


Thus, I speculate the H-20's potential requirements include :

1. targeting the 2IC to 3IC, or areas near the 3IC;

2. nuclear deterrence against the Arctic and US West Coast.

I do worry about the H-20. Of course there's benefits to saving money and going back to the drawing board to revise the design to something optimal, but time isn't free. China made the correct choice with the J-20 when they built it early, even if the development complex of stealth aircraft in China was far from ideal back then, and learnt many lessons from operating the plane whilst the SU-57 languished in development hell. I hope that Xi'an, or whoever has responsibility over the H-20, isn't repeating the mistakes of the SU-57. Sometimes it's better to get a good enough plane this year than the perfect plane for today fifteen years from now.

dasCKD said:

I do worry about the H-20. Of course there's benefits to saving money and going back to the drawing board to revise the design to something optimal, but time isn't free. China made the correct choice with the J-20 when they built it early, even if the development complex of stealth aircraft in China was far from ideal back then, and learnt many lessons from operating the plane whilst the SU-57 languished in development hell. I hope that Xi'an, or whoever has responsibility over the H-20, isn't repeating the mistakes of the SU-57. Sometimes it's better to get a good enough plane this year than the perfect plane for today fifteen years from now.

Click to expand...

China was desperate to have a
Stealth fighter. A fighter that can match US and attain parity is existential for China.

Its not desperate to have a stealth Bomber. So, no they can take their sweet time on it, just like they are taking their sweet time on building up the carrier fleet.