China is the only country besides the United States with a large, stealthy strategic bomber that can attack other continents. This impressive warbird, the H-20, won’t be ready until the 2030s.
Still, with its strong manufacturing base, determined workers, and economies of scale, China could produce it in the kind of numbers that could intimidate the United States and the West.
China’s H-20 Brings Much to the Table
The H-20 will give huge advantages to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).
It can deliver a nuclear weapon, likely mated with a hypersonic weapon. It may be a drone quarterback that can operate a “Loyal Wingman” flight of drones.
The H-20 could collect intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data. It may also have electronic warfare capabilities to jam and spoof enemy air defenses.
Dominating the Region
The H-20 will give regional adversaries fits. There would be little way to counteract it due to its radar-evading capability.
The H-20 will also be proficient at conventional strike with advanced missiles and bombs.
Then, there is the strategic option that will allow it to launch a nuclear weapon anywhere in East Asia. The bomber has a range of 2,500 miles without refueling, although there is some reporting to suggest it could be much more.
It could then cover the Second Island Chain and could easily reach American bases on Japan, South Korea, and Guam.
All Systems Are Go For the H-20
The stealth bomber is, so far, not having any technical difficulties in manufacturing if the Chinese can be believed.
Last year, the deputy commander of the People’s Liberation Army, Wang Wei, said, “There is no bottleneck, and all problems can be solved. Our scientific researchers are progressing well, they are fully capable.” The first prototype could even appear later this year.
The H-20 would then go into test and evaluation mode, and mass production could ensue by the early 2030s. The program appears to be on-time and under budget.
Defense Workers Are on War Footing
China’s defense industrial base is functioning like the country is in a state of war. Whether it’s making simple rivets and bolts or aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons, China’s military manufacturing expertise is hard to beat.
China can be as robust and diverse as possible, especially in aerospace. It can be crafty and ingenious when the time calls it for it. Engineers and designers and even the lowliest of technicians have high morale and patriotism. And if workers have a bad attitude with low output, there are tens of thousands of applicants to take their place.
Outpacing the United States
It is estimated that China can make advanced systems five or six times faster than the United States. It builds ships like no country can. The shipbuilding capacity could be as much as 230 times larger than the Americans. “One of China’s large shipyards, such as Jiangnan Shipyard, has more capacity than all U.S. shipyards combined,” according to the think tank CSIS.
CSIS, in that report, went on to describe how defense contractors such as “China North Industries Group Corporation Limited and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, are producing a growing quantity and quality of land, maritime, air, space, and other capabilities. China increased its defense budget by 7.2 percent in 2024 and is heavily investing in munitions and acquiring high-end weapons systems.”
Since China’s defense corporations are mainly state-owned enterprises, they can be mightily nimble when called upon. Supreme Leader Xi Jinping and the Communist Party need only say “jump” and these firms reply, “how high?” That means China can be quicker to produce technologically advanced systems to overtake the United States and the West.
“China has become a science and technology (S&T) powerhouse, and we have every indication that this translates into its defense industrial base. China has no distinction between defense-related and non-defense enterprises; any enterprise exists to benefit the state, allowing S&T innovations in any organization to be accessed by the military. China’s technology development remains strong when measured in academic journal articles published on defense-related scientific advancements and in new patents for military technologies,” according to Cortney Weinbaum, senior management scientist at the RAND Corporation.
This means that the H-20 could use civilian developed technology and rapidly integrate it into the new bomber. Civilian and defense employees work hand in hand. The H-20 would likely have the best minds in the country who specialize in aerospace engineering and research and development.
There could be more technological breakthroughs that come alive during the manufacturing of the H-20. For example, it could have lasers on board that the world has never seen before. The engines could push the bomber to high speeds and enable the airplane to hit near space altitudes to destroy satellites.
The sky is the limit for the H-20. China simply has a huge defense industrial base that makes it much easier to push out military hardware. Workers are probably toiling around the clock on the H-20 like the country is in a war with the United States and the West.
Workers are highly motivated by passion and patriotism for the homeland. The SOEs can change direction at any time the political leadership of the country decides on priorities. If Xi wants a new stealth and strategic bomber to eclipse the United States, then he will have it in time.
This means that the PLAAF could have hundreds of new H-20s in the coming years and that spells trouble for the United States and its allies in East Asia.
H-20 Photo Essay
H-20 Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
H-20 Bomber from China Artist Rendition.
H-20 Bomber Image. Image Credit X Screeenshot.
H-20 Bomber. Image Credit: X Screenshot.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
