Stealth Bomber Coming: China’s upcoming H-20 Xi’an stealth bomber has the U.S. concerned, with capabilities that could rival the B-2 Spirit and even the yet-to-launch B-21 Raider. With an estimated range of over 8,000 miles and a 40-ton payload, the H-20 could threaten key U.S. assets in the Indo-Pacific, such as Guam and Hawaii.

-China’s increasing ability to produce and deploy these bombers in numbers gives it potential air superiority in the region.

-As the U.S. military faces budgetary constraints and slower production, the H-20 highlights a shift in the Indo-Pacific balance, posing new strategic challenges for U.S. defense.

America is Having Nightmares About China’s H-20 Xi’an Stealth Bomber

When the new administration takes office on January 20, 2025, it will be presented with the worst strategic picture that any US leader has faced at least since 1980, maybe since 1933. The world-class Zhuhai Air Show in China has already broken many Western preconceptions about the backwardness of China (and even of heavily sanctioned Russia). 

In that air show, Russia demonstrated that the Su-57, contrary to Western corporate media is an impressive fifth-generation warplane. What’s more, China finally unveiled their potent fifth-generation J-35, China’s equivalent of the F-35 Lightning II.

Now, Chinese social media is abuzz over recently leaked photos of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) H-20 Xi’an long-range strategic stealth bomber. According to Peter Suciu in these pages, “New renderings of China’s Xi’an H-20 stealth bomber [hint] at a flying-wing design with deep penetration capabilities and potential to rival the U.S. B-2 Spirit and upcoming B-21 Raider” long-range stealth bombers. 

Indeed, the images produced thus far suggest that the H-20 will be used to conduct decisive stealth strikes on the American fortifications on Guam while possibly being able to attack targets beyond Guam as well.

And with China’s defense industrial base supremacy over the United States, the likelihood that they could mass produce these shockingly competitive stealth bombers means that the United States, with its paltry force of 19 B-2 Spirit bombers (and one prototype of the B-21) could be numerically outmatched by the Chinese. 

Spitting Facts About the H-20

As for the technical readouts of the H-20. It sounds an awful lot like they are on par with the B-2 Spirit and, quite possibly, even the B-21 Raider which is having difficulty achieving the needed production quota (the Air Force wants 300 units but say they’ll settle for 150. This author suspects they’ll be lucky to get 20 over the next 15 years). 

The reason this is significant is not only because it should be (yet another) wake-up call for Washington about the growing capabilities and threat that China’s military poses to the United States. More importantly, though, it’s significant because the Chinese now have multiple modalities with which to rebuff US military units operating in the Indo-Pacific. 

With their anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) networks arrayed throughout the South China Sea and the Chinese coastline of the Taiwan Strait, China’s military believes it can reliably keep the bulk of the United States Navy’s surface warfare fleet over-the-horizon indefinitely. 

With a long-range stealth bomber capability that many experts say is ready to fly as early as this week (although Chinese sources insist that the plane will not be debuted until 2026), Chinese forces can now more reliably target US Air Force bases throughout the contested region—and with stealth capabilities so the Americans would be unlikely to see them coming. 

A Sad Strategic Reality

Plus, the H-20 Xi’an is believed to be capable of carrying a 40-ton payload and has a range of over 8,000 miles. So, both Guam and Hawaii are on the target lists for this bird. Sure, the Americans can always counter with their own B-2 Spirit attacks. But the damage would be done. 

Face it, the Americans have allowed the Chinese to gain parity with its forces in the Indo-Pacific. After a decade of ignoring it, the next American president is going to face a China whose military is relatively equal (or better in some key areas) to the overstretched and strained US military in the Indo-Pacific. 

The rise of the H-20 Xi’an is yet another tragic example of this new strategic reality. 

About the Author: 

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is available for purchase wherever books are sold. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

Image Credit: Creative Commons.