I dont think there was ever any technical release or news regarding H-20.. so feel free to speculate. But if you desire Trans pacific range. The bomber would be big, very big.
H-20 bomber (with H-X, JH-XX)
- Thread starter Deino
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I dont think there was ever any technical release or news regarding H-20.. so feel free to speculate. But if you desire Trans pacific range. The bomber would be big, very big.
I have discussed this before. But we should expect the H-20 to have four WS-10 or WS-15 engines without afterburner.
So you can guess the size and capabilities of the H-20 accordingly.
If the H-20 engines have 115 kN dry thrust then you would have an aircraft with 49% higher payload than the B-2.
The result is an aircraft with size and mass between the B-1 and Tu-160.
There is also the possibility that the PLA will go for a more theater bomber instead of a strategic bomber and thus make it twin engine like the B-21. But I kind of doubt it. They will want a strategic bomber capable of striking the CONUS. Contrary to the US, China does not have bases close to the US border. So a larger strategic bomber makes more sense.
So you can guess the size and capabilities of the H-20 accordingly.
If the H-20 engines have 115 kN dry thrust then you would have an aircraft with 49% higher payload than the B-2.
The result is an aircraft with size and mass between the B-1 and Tu-160.
There is also the possibility that the PLA will go for a more theater bomber instead of a strategic bomber and thus make it twin engine like the B-21. But I kind of doubt it. They will want a strategic bomber capable of striking the CONUS. Contrary to the US, China does not have bases close to the US border. So a larger strategic bomber makes more sense.
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China never had a real strategic triad, only a strategic dyad (land and sea), because the shortest distance goes over Russia, 2nd shortest goes over EU. Crossing the Pacific is way longer than crossing the North Pole. I don't think you appreciate the distance that it takes to get from China to NA without refueling. It is insane.
There are tons of tactical/theater level operational needs that are not met, and absolutely need to be met, and would not be addressed by such a plane.
There are some rumours about JH-XX for many years, though without any solid information. But everything should have a source, cannot jump out of thin air. Just as I mentioned, a stealthy FB-111A-style tactical fighter-bomber could be a good solution for PLAAF.
A variable sweep wing is just not worth it today. Vortex lift is well understood now and I'm sure many advancements have been made in the supersonic airfoil department since the introduction of the F-111. Variable sweep wing planes are likely more difficult to make LO. Something like a scaled up YF-23 would be more suited for today's fighter bomber designs, which is what the JH-XX aims to accomplish, if it even is real.
I don’t think they meant it’s gonna have variable wings like F-111. The comparison is for the role, a medium/long-range strike fighter.
the point is not the swing wing. the point is in having a plane with the role of medium ranged tactical strike with heavy munitions at relatively low cost ( vs , about ~3x cheaper with inflation).
The F-111 wasn't made for the swing wing. The F-111 was made for a specific ground attack objective at a given production cost, build time and maintenance footprint, the swing wing was the method used to get there.
A JH-XX with ~3500 km combat radius, M1.6 max speed, integrated with 500-1000 km range cruise missiles, the LO characteristics of a J-20 and most of all, the cost of a J-20, using 2x afterburning WS-15s with same TWR as the F-111, would be absolutely a formidable opponent and be able to fuck shit up while being extremely tricky to catch.
How do you catch something that goes the same speed as your planes, can see and launch at your ships from 500 km out, but you can't see it until you're 50 km in?
Unlike subsonics, you can't vector towards the launch point and hope to catch up to it because by the time you get there it has sprinted away yet still out of detection range of both radar and IRST.
And then even if you do shoot it down, there's 200-300 more. With the cost and dimensions of a fighter, it can be pumped out in fighter numbers (300+) rather than bomber numbers (~100).
The distance from Shanghai to California's coastline is about 6,000 nmi (nautical miles). A round trip flight would be 12,000 nmi. You want to do this without aerial refueling?
It's going to take a plane running on Liquid Hydrogen to make that distance.
Maybe 20 years from now the Chinese will build such a plane, but it's definitely NOT going to happen right now.