U.S. Wary of China’s Next-Generation Stealth Bomber As Development of H-20 Reaches Final Stage

Keiichiro Azuma and Hiroshi Tajima

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The Chinese military’s new stealth bomber, the H-20, appears to be in the final stage of its development. A next-generation strategic bomber, it is expected to significantly improve China’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy aimed at deterring U.S. military action in the event of a contingency involving Taiwan.

The United States has been increasingly alarmed, as the H-20 could have capabilities close to those of U.S. bombers.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed strong concern over the modernization of the Chinese military at a ceremony in Hawaii on Friday to mark the change of the leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] is the only country with both the will — and, increasingly, the capacity — to dominate the Indo-Pacific and to reshape the global order to suit its autocratic vision. And that’s why the PRC remains the department’s pacing challenge,” Austin said.