During the two sessions in March 2024, the H-20, which has been dormant for a long time, suddenly has a new trend, and this advanced aviation project, which was officially confirmed to exist in 2016, seems to have the possibility of further advancement.
[H-20 concept map]
The H-20 is the core model of the 20 family of China's aviation industry, which is related to the formation of the strategic strike capability of the Chinese Air Force, and its development difficulty and technical advancement are also the highest in the 20 family.
What's new in the H-20
During the "two sessions," Hong Kong reporters met Wang Wei, the current deputy commander of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, outside the venue of the two sessions, and asked him several key questions about the H-20. The reporter first asked Wang Wei about the announcement time of Deputy Commander H-20, and Wang Wei did not hide anything, but directly said that it was almost time and just waited.
【Deputy Commander Wang Wei】
Obviously, the Hong Kong reporter did not expect Wang Wei's answer to be so straightforward, and hurriedly asked whether the development work was ready. Wang Wei said that the development of the aircraft is a continuous process and is always in the process of upgrading and transformation.
These two issues reveal a very critical information to the outside world, that is, the H-20 project has not been stalled, the aircraft has been constantly upgraded and improved, and it will soon be available to the public.
Hong Kong reporters have obviously done their homework, so they went on to ask the third question, after the announcement of the H-20 research and development in 2016, there was no major official revelation, is it because of the technical bottleneck encountered in the development process?
[H-20 may look like this]
Wang Wei said that there is no technical bottleneck, all of which can be solved, and our R&D personnel have the ability to complete technical research.
This response can be said to have directly broken the gossip that has been circulating in the outside world, because before the successful development of the H-20, only the United States successfully developed a stealth strategic bomber, and so far it has developed two generations, namely the B2A Ghost and the B21 Raider.
Although China has previously studied UAVs in flying wing configurations, the strategic bomber is much larger, and the requirements for power and flight control are also higher, and it is normal for bottlenecks to occur in the development process.
Fortunately, Wang Wei's response has helped to break this doubt, the H-20 project has been proceeding step by step, and there is no insurmountable technical obstacle for China in stealth flying wing bombers, which is gratifying.
【Deputy Commander Wang Wei】
So what has caused the H-20 to remain silent for eight years? Combined with Wang Wei's statement that the aircraft has been upgrading and renovating, it is very likely that the H-20 is gaining a more powerful missile use capability by modifying the aircraft mechanism.
The H-20 project was established very early, and at that time, the mainland's missile technology had not yet exploded, especially hypersonic missile models such as the YJ-21 had not yet appeared.
[The sixth master is carrying Eagle Strike 21]
So the original design of the H-20 is likely to be similar to the B-2, which is mainly used to drop heavy guided bombs and standoff strikes as a long-range cruise missile, and does not have the ability to carry a larger hypersonic missile.
This is obviously unreasonable, since China already has the sharpest spear, it would be a pity that the H-20, as a quiet killer, could not be carried.
[Possible appearance of H-20]
In order to carry a hypersonic missile like the YJ-21, the H-20 is bound to expand the size of the bomb bay, and for a stealth aircraft with a highly integrated airframe design, the amount of work to modify the original design is no different from redesigning a new aircraft.
But in order to ensure that the H-20 will not fall behind as soon as it comes out, such changes and upgrades are necessary.
Confidence beyond B2
In addition to the attention of domestic military fans and military experts, the H-20 is also a hot topic abroad, and an Indian military expert named Girish Lingana once talked about his prediction of the H-20, claiming that its combat capability will surpass the B2 bomber, and the cost of one may be worth 20 J-20 fighters, which is a real great power heavy weapon.
[20]
It is not difficult to see that the Indian expert obviously made great reference to the relevant data of the B2 bomber, first of all, the H-20 surpassed the B2, which is actually a sure thing, the B2 is still a product of the Cold War in the final analysis, 30 years earlier than the H-20.
In the past 30 years, stealth technology and avionics have made a great leap forward, if the final H-20 technical level is only equivalent to B2 or not as good as B2, then H-20 will become a failed project.
However, we must also admit that the design of the B2 still has merits to this day, such as its flying wing configuration is likely to be adopted by the H-20, and among the many aerodynamic layouts, the flying wing is the best stealth effect, and it is also considered the standard configuration of large stealth aircraft.
【B2】
Not only the B2 adopts this design, but the updated B21 also continues to be used, and the Russian hidden bomb PAK-DA, which has published a hypothetical picture, is also a flying wing shape.
However, on the basis of B2, the H-20 will make full use of the latest development of stealth technology, and the stealth coating of B2 is expensive and difficult to maintain because of the early development time, and even requires the construction of a special constant temperature and humidity hangar to ensure the effectiveness of the coating.
【Hangar B2】
In contrast, China's stealth coatings are more reliable and less squeamish, which can greatly reduce operation and maintenance costs and facilitate the large-scale equipment of the H-20.
The avionics of the B2 is also relatively traditional, and a considerable part of the mechanical instruments are still retained, while the H-20 will inevitably achieve full glass of the cabin, and the J-20 has been equipped with synthetic aperture radar, and most of them will be carried on the H-20 to achieve stronger air situational awareness.
Therefore, there is no doubt that the comprehensive performance of the H-20 is stronger than that of the B2. As for the cost of the H-20, which is equivalent to 20 J-20s, Indian experts obviously believe that the H-20 will have an extremely high cost like the B2.
The cost of the B2 reached a staggering $2.4 billion that year, which was more expensive than the same weight of gold, so that the deep-pocketed U.S. Air Force could not bear it and closed the production line of the B2 early.
【B2 production line】
But the reason why the price of B2 is so expensive is mainly because the technology was too advanced at that time, and the production quantity was very small, and the H-20 will be equipped with the Chinese Air Force on a large scale in the future, and the cost will naturally be amortized if the number is large.
Moreover, due to the advantages of China's complete manufacturing system, the cost of Chinese weapons is almost equal to one-third of that of similar weapons in the United States, and the cost of the H-20 will not be as unattainable as that of the B2.
Sources:
【1】When Should We Start High-Rate Production of the B-2? AN ANALYSIS BASED ON FLIGHT TEST RESULTS Congressional Record (Senate - August 02, 1991) STATEMENT OF MICHAEL D. RICH, VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL SECURITY RESEARCH DIRECTOR, NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH INSTITUTE)
【2】英语：Air Force Decisions and the B-2 IRIS Research Report December 1995．Globalsecurity.org [引用日期2014-02-22]