Hello defence lovers! China is testing its Xian H20 strategic stealth bomber near Ladakh, from 8th June onward. These tests are expected to continue till 22nd June which is a very special day for China. On 23rd July the hypocritic evil, the Chinese Communist Party will be celebrating its 100 years of foundation (and world peace disruption). In this article, we are going to discuss whether will be a threat to India.
The Xian H-20 is a projected subsonic stealth bomber design of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. It is referred to as a strategic project by the People’s Liberation Army. The H-20 will be the first dedicated strategic bomber developed by China. The aircraft may enter service around 2025.
According to media reports the Xian H20 was ready for testing in the last year. However the Chinese Communist party refrained from unveiling this fighter as it would would invite unnecessary international pressure. China was already being accused of deliberately spreading the Covid 19 virus in the world.
Through the Xian H20, China wants to send the world a message that it is the new superpower of the world. It will be a symbol of power for the Chinese communist party which it will use to intimidate neighboring countries like Taiwan, Japan, and India.
Xian H20: A Threat For India?
Now let us understand why H20 is a potential threat for India. China has a great track record for stealing the information of western aircraft through cyber espionage. According to experts, the H20 is going to be the Chinese version of the American B2 strategic stealth bomber. If we look at the capabilities of B2 we can roughly estimate the capabilities of the Chinese H20.
The H20 has a tailless flying wing design just like the B2. According to estimates, it will be able to carry over 20 tons of payload over 12000 kilometres. Its payload will range from 500-pound bombs to standoff cruise missiles and even nuclear weapons.
Also read: China Test It’s Stealth Bomber H-20 Capabilities Opposite Ladakh
Now let us understand why this Xian H20 is not a threat for India specifically. Let us assume that China wants to drop bombs on Indian soil using its new H20 bomber without considering its devastating consequences. The Induction of H20 does not give any new advantage. China already operates Strategic bombers which could perform this task. The greatest feature of the Xian H20 is its stealth and range. We know how good Chinese platforms are in terms of their stealth. The self-proclaimed stealth fighter J20 is so stealthy that our Su 30 MKIs can detect J 20s flying over Tibet. It is needless to say that H20 being a bigger platform will have a much larger RCS making it even more visible to the Indian radars. Now talking about the range, it is a useful feature against China’s adversaries which are located over the seas like the United States, not the countries which share a land border with it.
China may develop self-proclaimed strategic stealth bombers which can attack countries on other continents. Indian missile arsenal is ready for counter-strike if China dares to use it against India. So is the United States and other NATO countries.
Does India Needs A Bomber To Counter China?
Procuring, maintaining, and operating Bombers is a costly affair. Modern bombers are quite useless unless there is a full-blown war. Bombers are big, bulky, and not much maneuverable and hence are easy targets. Bombers can only be sent into the enemy airspace once there is complete air superiority. Unlike the World War 2 era, the bomber and fighter escort strategy cannot work in the modern scenario. For tactical bombing ground attack aircraft are much more useful than bombers. Indian airforce operates various multi-role and dedicated attack aircraft which can perform ground attack roles like Balakot airstrikes. It is very unlikely that the Chinese airforce would ever get the opportunity to use their H20 in real combat. Hence the idea of building a similar bomber does not make sense for the Indian airforce. Instead, we should focus on our fighter squadrons. procuring additional squadrons of Rafale instead of any bomber would be a much more sensible decision
We must not forget that every platform that China develops is after all Chinese and we know pretty well how reliable the Chinese technology is and how well their pilots are trained. The Xian H20 does not provide any new tactical or strategic advantage to China. In the modern era, cruise missiles can easily perform the role of bombers. Bombers are just an asset of psychological warfare and are only useful when the scale of the bombing is very large. Any such misadventure by the Chinese on Indian Soil will have futile consequences for China and its Communist Party.
