Aerospace

China Is Developing Two Stealth Bombers: Report

China is developing not one but two new stealth bombers, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency claimed in a January 2019 report .
While the People's Liberation Army has not been shy about discussing the H-20 strategic bomber that the Xian Aircraft Industrial Corporation is developing for the PLA Air Force, there are many fewer public references to the other stealth bomber, which apparently carries the designation JH-XX.
If the report is accurate and China completes development of the JH-XX, the Chinese air force could become the first air arm in the world to deploy a radar-evading fighter-bomber whose main mission is long-range ground-attack.
Other stealth fighter types, including the U.S. military's F-22 and F-35, the Russian air force's Su-57 and the PLAAF's J-20 and J-31 either primarily are air-to-air fighters or combine air-combat capability with the ability to strike ground targets.
Beijing’s goal of eventu­ally forcing Taiwan to unify with China has driven the new bombers' development. "Beijing’s anticipation that foreign forces would intervene in a Taiwan scenario led the PLA to develop a range of systems to deter and deny foreign regional force projec­tion," the DIA reported.