China Teases H-20 Stealth Bomber in PLA Recruitment Video

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) gave a sneak peek at the design of its new H-60 next-generation, long-range strategic stealth bomber in the service’s 2021 recruitment video released Tuesday.

At the far end of the video, an unknown aircraft rendered in computer-generated imagery enters the stage. Reflection in the goggles of a pilot’s helmet provided a good view of the bulky aircraft. It appears to have a flying-wing design with two intakes on the back of the plane. It has no visible tail wings and no winglets on the tips of the wings.

Chinese experts speculated the mystery warplane could be long-anticipated H-20 bomber.

“Judging from the newly released outline, the H-20 could look similar to the U.S. military’s B-2 bomber as expected, and its radar cross section will be minimal,” Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military analyst, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

This could mean that China has achieved a generation-leaping development in bomber planes and become in possession of a world-class strategic stealth bomber, Wei said.

State-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) in a promotional video in May 2018, revealed only the front outline of a similar aircraft, covered in a blanket. Experts had predicted it could be PLA’s new H-60 bomber jet boasting 12,000 km - range and 20 tons carrying capacity.

The H-20 has been the subject of speculation for a long time, and now the Air Force has displayed its vague outline in a recruitment video. This possibly means the outline and design of the aircraft are no longer top secrets, and the development project has made significant progresses, Wei said.

"We might be able to see a real H-20 soon," Wei predicted.