China’s H-20 stealth bomber<\/p>\n
Beijing’s new\u00a0stealth bomber H-20 may have the capabilities of striking US military bases far beyond the Chinese<\/strong><\/a> shores with\u00a0nuclear missiles, according to a report by a UK think thank.<\/p>\n The long-range subsonic warplane is one of China’s most mysterious military projects in recent years and currently under development.<\/p>\n The Pentagon believes that the bomber would have a range of over 5,000 miles and be able to hit US territories, such as Guam. Other military analysts, however, have hinted that H-20 might even have Hawaii within its reach<\/p>\n Royal United Services Institute, a London-based organisation, claims that H-20 would give China ‘a truly intercontinental power-projection capability’ well beyond the country’s seaboard.<\/p>\n ‘Armed with nuclear and conventional standoff missiles, the H-20 would represent a major break from previous PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force) doctrine and equipment development practice,’ the\u00a0independent think tank said in a recent study<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The report continued: ‘The PLAAF (and PLAN) are currently configured as regional forces for a conflict within the first island chain with additional specific capabilities aimed at neutralising or supressing the US base at Guam.<\/p>\n ‘The H-20, by contrast, would give China a truly intercontinental power-projection capability.’<\/p>\n In its 2020 China Military Power Report<\/strong><\/a>, the United States Department of Defense said that H-20 would have a likely range of at least\u00a08,500 kilometres (5,280 miles).<\/p>\n This means that the bomber could easily target America’s bases in Guam, a strategic US territory about 2,000 miles away from the Chinese coast.<\/p>\n Other experts have suggested that the Chinese army likely want to include Hawaii in its list of targets through H-20.<\/p>\n In a November report about H-20, The National Interest<\/strong><\/a> said: ‘The PLAAF wants a strategic bomber that can operate within the third chain, also known as the area that begins with the Aleutian Islands and extends beyond Hawaii.’<\/p>\n Previous reports claimed that H-20 could be ready later this year.<\/p>\n Once the development of H-20 is complete, China would join the US and Russia<\/strong><\/a> in possessing a three-pronged military force that can launch nuclear missiles from air, land and sea.<\/p>\n