Bigger Than the B-21: A First Look at China’s Massive Intercontinental Range Stealth Bomber

<p >Satellite tv for pc footage from a Chinese language Folks’s Liberation Military take a look at base close to Malan, Xinjiang province, has supplied a primary have a look at a really giant lengthy vary stealth plane, which seems to be an unmanned bomber supposed for service in China’s Air Pressure. The big hangars housing one of many plane resemble these utilized by the U.S. Air Pressure to accommodate the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/why-america-developed-this-massive-2-billion-stealth-bomber-b-2-spirit-built-for-nuclear-strikes-on-moscow" goal="_blank">B-2 Spirit stealth bomber</a>, which is the closest operational international counterpart to the brand new Chinese language plane. Just like the B-2 and its <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-200-b21s-expansion-fleet" goal="_blank">smaller successor the B-21</a>, the brand new Chinese language plane is a flying wing design, which is the stealthiest class of plane on the earth and retains a low radar cross part throughout a a lot wider spectrum of wavebands than stealth fighters just like the F-35 or J-20. Such plane are designed not solely to complicate focusing on, however to evade all types of detection altogether. The plane’s measurement seems to fall between these of the B-2 and the B-21, with a wingspan of roughly 52 meters, in comparison with 52.4 meters for the B-2, and solely round 40 meters for the a lot shorter ranged B-21. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/10/article_673003a07c57e3_12472381.png" title="CH-7 Unmanned Medium Vary Bomber" ></p><p >Whereas little is thought concerning the brand new Chinese language plane, the dearth of a visual cockpit has led to the conclusion that it’s unmanned. A chance stays, nevertheless, that it the low decision of the satellite tv for pc pictures could also be masking this and different options. What’s seen is that the plane’s wingtips seem  clipped at an angle much like these of the B-2 and B-21. Whether or not manned or unmanned, the plane’s vary is prone to intently match or exceed that of the B-2, whereas far exceeding that of the B-21. It stays unsure whether or not the brand new plane is the lengthy awaited <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/chinese-h20-intercontinental-bomber" goal="_blank">H-20 intercontinental vary stealth bomber</a>, or whether or not it was developed beneath a parallel program to offer an unmanned counterpart. China has led the world in creating and fielding unmanned flying wing plane for fight roles, and in November 2024 unveiled the brand new <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-unmanned-bomber-15hour" goal="_blank">CH-7 unmanned stealth bomber</a>, which though very giant for an unmanned plane with a 26 meter wingspan, was nonetheless far smaller than intercontinental vary plane. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/15/article_684ec40969f279_77256138.jpeg" title="U.S. Air Pressure B-2 Intercontinental Vary Stealth Bombers"></p><p >With the US and Russia being the one two states to have operationalised intercontinental vary bombers, China’s newest unmanned plane might be the primary to enter service in its fleet. The plane might introduce a brand new degree of mutual vulnerability between China and the US mainland by considerably diversifying choices for strikes on American targets, complementing<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/chinese-hypersonic-around-world-jcs-vice-chair" goal="_blank"> main advances being made </a>within the ICBM arsenal and the ballistic missile submarine fleet. The enlargement of choices to interact targets on the U.S. mainland is especially vital at a time when the US continues to extend navy deployments to East Asia aimed primarily at putting Chinese language targets within the firing line, together with from 2024 putting the primary ground-based cruise missile launchers within the Philippines. The B-21 bomber program can be supposed primarily to permit operations from America’s string of bases throughout the Pacific, with China remaining the first goal. China’s lack of comparable alternatives to base its forces close to the American mainland has thus made the power to launch intercontinental vary assaults from bases by itself territory vital.</p>



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