One of the best-kept mysteries of military aviation can be solved next year. The Xian H-20, China’s first stealth bomber, is expected to be unveiled to the public during the 70th anniversary celebration of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).
This is what the Chinese press has said in recent days and whose first prototype is about to fly for the first time. According to analysts, the H-20 is expected to be very similar to the US B-2 bomber, a flying wing that has the characteristics to not be detected by radars.
It is believed that the H-20 will be able to fly for 12,000 kilometers and carry more than 20 tons of armaments including thermonuclear weapons.
The existence of a Chinese stealth bomber was confirmed by the PLAAF high command in 2016, but there are reports that China has been studying such a plane since the 1990s.
At the beginning of the year, AVIC, responsible for the project, published a video showing an aircraft covered by a sheet and having a flying wing shape. The image copied the presentation that Northrop-Grumman made in 2015 for the future B-21 Raider, the new steath bomber of the United States.
See also: Russia gives green light to stealth bomber project
