China’s H-20 long-range stealth bomber will not appear until the 2030s: Pentagon

The H-20 programme, first revealed by the PLA in 2016, is seen as Beijing’s answer to America’s B-2 Spirit and B-21 Raider bombers

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China’s H-20 bomber may debut “sometime in the next decade” and will have a range of “more than 10,000km”, latest Pentagon report to US Congress says. Photo: X/ SouthToday5

Published: 9:00pm, 19 Dec 2024

China’s H-20 stealth bomber is unlikely to make its debut until the 2030s, the Pentagon said in an annual defence report released on Wednesday.

“[China] is developing a new generation of long-range bombers, likely named the H-20 … which may debut sometime in the next decade,” the China Military Power Report said, offering Washington’s latest evaluation of the widely discussed advanced Chinese stealth bomber.

The Pentagon report, mandated by the US Congress and released annually for the past two years, is seen as the US defence ministry’s most comprehensive unclassified report on China’s military advancements.

The H-20 programme was first revealed by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 2016 as a “new generation of long-range bombers”, seen as Beijing’s answer to America’s B-2 Spirit and B-21 Raider bombers.

According to the Pentagon, the H-20 will have a range of “more than 10,000km (about 6,214 miles)”, “enabling the [PLA Air Force] to cover the second island chain and into the western region of the Pacific”.

It also added that the bomber was expected to employ both conventional and nuclear weaponry and “feature a stealthy design”.