It is not my imagination. It is DOD USA intelligence based guess for H-10 or H-18 variants and H-20 in the reports of 2019 as well as 2020. I just tried to see H-6 engines and technologies being used to test a flying wing design and suspected PRC would proceed on . They have done it before for J-10/J-16 and J-20. They can do it due to prevailing situation in SCS.
H-6 Bomber Aircraft Discussions
- Thread starter F40Racer
- Start date
Care to provide a source for this? I cannot imagine that the "DOD USA intelligence based guess for H-10 or H-18 variants and H-20 in the reports of 2019 as well as 2020"!
The latest versions of the H-6, the H-6J/K/Ns, are a serious weapon system that any potential adversary must take into consideration.
From a limited information perspective, they appear a very cost-effective capability development.
They have very good range/payload performance, only available to the U.S. and Russia (albeit not to the level of the B-52 or TU-95). The range, even without in-flight refuelling, together with the ability to launch up to six large, long-range anti-surface weapons is significant. Discussion on its RCS is spurious!
They should not be viewed as just an interim capability while awaiting the H-20, but will likely be a valuable adjunct capability, able to contribute to many mission profiles while releasing H-20s for other operational requirements.
We should expect that the latest generation of H-6s to be in service for many years to come.
From a limited information perspective, they appear a very cost-effective capability development.
They have very good range/payload performance, only available to the U.S. and Russia (albeit not to the level of the B-52 or TU-95). The range, even without in-flight refuelling, together with the ability to launch up to six large, long-range anti-surface weapons is significant. Discussion on its RCS is spurious!
They should not be viewed as just an interim capability while awaiting the H-20, but will likely be a valuable adjunct capability, able to contribute to many mission profiles while releasing H-20s for other operational requirements.
We should expect that the latest generation of H-6s to be in service for many years to come.
I think you are mixing up a couple of things here. The J-16, if anything, is based on the reverse engineering the Chinese did on the J-11 and Su-30MKK, but with their own avionics and weapons. The J-15 airframe is single crew and has just too much useless naval baggage like the tailhook or the foldable wings. AFAIK the Chinese were producing J-11s in licensed production from parts kits and even their own J-11 clones with Russian engines years before the J-15 entered service.
I think a more apt comparison with regards to the H-6K upgrade program would be the JH-7 program. It is an interim program to provide long distance strike which used imported off the shelf engines with their own weapons systems. I think the possibility of a flying wing using H-6K technologies is basically zero like @Deino said. It just makes no sense. The engine is outdated 1970s technology, the airframe has little possibilities for improvement, at best you might use some of the avionics and weapons systems but that's it. It is a major and necessary improvement over the Tu-16/H-6 sure. But it has reached its limits. There is little you can reuse to be honest. The Chinese will likely make a quad-engine aircraft with WS-10s or WS-15s, heck, maybe quad WS-19s if they want a smaller aircraft.
This will be more expedient than using two engines with twice the performance like the H-6K does. You need high dry thrust without afterburners on such a stealth bomber. Because afterburners kill IR stealth and add cost. So either you go for quad engines, or you develop a new engine that's twice as large. Well, China does have plans for making a modern engine with similar thrust over the next decade, for the CRAIC 929, but it's highly unlikely something like that would be used in the H-20. Russia supposedly has the NK-32 engine for the Tu-160M2 which would fit the bill but AFAIK it is out of production and probably would not be exported either way. So I think the H-20 will be a quad engine, like the B-1 or B-2, rather than a twin engine like the Tu-16 or Tu-22M. Given the design timeline I see little chance this is not the case.
The H-20 should be a brand new aircraft, with a new flying wing airframe, 4x WS series engines without afterburners, subsonic, with intercontinental range, stealth, and likely with new avionics. Where the H-6K gave China the possibility to strike anywhere in Southeast Asia or Guam the H-20 will give then global power projection. I expect it to have similar or better specs vs the B-2 in terms of range and payload. It should basically be a competitor to the B-21 Raider and might come out before it.
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This news have come out for several days already and I can't believe that no one has posted it here yet:
China air force video appears to show simulated attack on U.S. base on Guam
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s air force has released a video showing nuclear-capable H-6 bombers carrying out a simulated attack on what appears to be Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. Pacific island of Guam, as regional tensions rise.
The video, released on Saturday on the People’s Liberation Army Air Force Weibo account, came as China carried out a second day of drills near Chinese-claimed Taiwan, to express anger at the visit of a senior U.S. State Department official to Taipei.
Guam is home to major U.S. military facilities, including the air base, which would be key to responding to any conflict in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Chinese air force’s two minute and 15 second video, set to solemn, dramatic music like a trailer for a Hollywood movie, shows H-6 bombers taking off from a desert base. The video is called “The god of war H-6K goes on the attack!”
Halfway through, a pilot presses a button and looses off a missile at an unidentified seaside runway.
The missile homes in on the runway, a satellite image of which is shown that looks exactly like the layout of Andersen.
The music suddenly stops as images of the ground shaking appear, following by aerial views of an explosion.
“We are the defenders of the motherland’s aerial security; we have the confidence and ability to always defend the security of the motherland’s skies,” the air force wrote in a brief description for the video.
Neither China’s defence ministry nor U.S. Indo-Pacific Command immediately responded to requests for comment on the video.
Collin Koh, a research fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, said the video was aimed at highlighting China’s growing prowess in long-range power projection.
“The video is meant to warn the Americans that even supposedly safe, rearward positions such as Guam may come under threat when conflicts over regional flashpoints, be it Taiwan or South China Sea, erupt,” he said.
The H-6 has been involved in multiple Chinese flights around and near Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s air force, including those last week.
The H-6K is the latest model of the bomber, which is based on the 1950s vintage Soviet Tu-16.
On Monday, China’s Eastern Theatre Command, which would be in charge of an attack on Taiwan, released a propaganda video of its own, called “what if war broke out today?”, showing soldiers running in wooded hills and ballistic missiles launching.
“Motherland, I swear I will fight for you until my death!” large golden Chinese characters read at the end of the montage as explosions go off in the background.
Reporting by Beijing newsroom and Yew Lun Tian; Additional reporting and writing by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Gerry Doyle, Robert Birsel
Here's the video that someone uploaded onto YouTube:
China air force video appears to show simulated attack on U.S. base on Guam
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s air force has released a video showing nuclear-capable H-6 bombers carrying out a simulated attack on what appears to be Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. Pacific island of Guam, as regional tensions rise.
The video, released on Saturday on the People’s Liberation Army Air Force Weibo account, came as China carried out a second day of drills near Chinese-claimed Taiwan, to express anger at the visit of a senior U.S. State Department official to Taipei.
Guam is home to major U.S. military facilities, including the air base, which would be key to responding to any conflict in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Chinese air force’s two minute and 15 second video, set to solemn, dramatic music like a trailer for a Hollywood movie, shows H-6 bombers taking off from a desert base. The video is called “The god of war H-6K goes on the attack!”
Halfway through, a pilot presses a button and looses off a missile at an unidentified seaside runway.
The missile homes in on the runway, a satellite image of which is shown that looks exactly like the layout of Andersen.
The music suddenly stops as images of the ground shaking appear, following by aerial views of an explosion.
“We are the defenders of the motherland’s aerial security; we have the confidence and ability to always defend the security of the motherland’s skies,” the air force wrote in a brief description for the video.
Neither China’s defence ministry nor U.S. Indo-Pacific Command immediately responded to requests for comment on the video.
Collin Koh, a research fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, said the video was aimed at highlighting China’s growing prowess in long-range power projection.
“The video is meant to warn the Americans that even supposedly safe, rearward positions such as Guam may come under threat when conflicts over regional flashpoints, be it Taiwan or South China Sea, erupt,” he said.
The H-6 has been involved in multiple Chinese flights around and near Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s air force, including those last week.
The H-6K is the latest model of the bomber, which is based on the 1950s vintage Soviet Tu-16.
On Monday, China’s Eastern Theatre Command, which would be in charge of an attack on Taiwan, released a propaganda video of its own, called “what if war broke out today?”, showing soldiers running in wooded hills and ballistic missiles launching.
“Motherland, I swear I will fight for you until my death!” large golden Chinese characters read at the end of the montage as explosions go off in the background.
Reporting by Beijing newsroom and Yew Lun Tian; Additional reporting and writing by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Gerry Doyle, Robert Birsel
Here's the video that someone uploaded onto YouTube:
The drive ran a full article on this, apparently they are very upset about "intellectual property" theft of their movies :-(