How many countries are there in this' club '? Including us, there are only three in total, the other two being the United States and Russia. The "three giants" of China, the United States, and Russia have finally "successfully met" on the air force ranking list!
The reason why this news has made everyone so excited, even excited, is mainly because our military is known for its cautious words and actions. Any research and development project that has not achieved some stage achievements will not be disclosed to the public. For example, the stealth fighter J-20, which attracted most military enthusiasts around the world, including those in China, only became known on January 11, 2011, when its first prototype flew into the sky. It turned out that China also had such advanced military aircraft, and the secrecy work was done with great care.
But now, Colonel Shen Jinke says that China's Air Force has become a "strategic air force". Does this mean that some of the major projects we have been thinking about are about to meet us? Just thinking about it is exciting! Many netizens shouted: Is our H-20 about to debut?
According to our military practice, such large-scale equipment with extremely high strategic value will not be publicly displayed until it has truly formed combat effectiveness. Just like the debut of the J-20 in the past, we selectively released some non confidential information and images through the media and the internet. The J-20's first public flight performance at the Zhuhai Air Show was in November 2016, almost 6 years after its maiden flight.
So, why does our military develop strategic bombers, and even develop a "Red Ghost" similar to the B-2? The main reason is that China's great power status determines that its navy and air force need to have the ability to resist enemies from thousands of miles away.
The navy, needless to say, is equipped with aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, large destroyers, nuclear submarines, and ocean going comprehensive supply ships, all of which are necessary for building an ocean going navy. The remaining problem is how to expand the quantity and improve performance. Without a doubt, the current Chinese navy has become a newly established ocean going navy.
So what about our Air Force? Stealth fighter jets and large transport planes are also available, but the only thing missing is a true strategic bomber! At present, in the equipment sequence of China's Air Force, the strategic bomber still plays the role of the "Six Elders", the H-6 series. When a retired Soviet pilot visited China, he asked our Air Force personnel: Do you no longer use the Tu-16?
One sentence is extremely awkward. Although the H-6K and H-6N we are currently using are essentially not the same type of aircraft as the old H-6 and Tu-16, except for their unchanged appearance, all the avionics equipment inside has been replaced with the most advanced domestic products, and they also have the ability to launch long-range cruise missiles, and even air launched ballistic missiles. This is the main reason why the H-6K and H-6N can barely play the role of "strategic bombers". And with the technological advancement of domestic aviation engines, these "war gods" will also be replaced with domestic aviation engines in the future.
However, these are indeed improvements based on the Tu-16, and even if they can fly out of the atmosphere in the end, they cannot escape the shadow of Tu-16. This is absolutely intolerable for an ambitious major country in the long run. From this perspective alone, we should start developing truly self designed and built strategic bombers.
Moreover, the H-6 series has never been free from a problem, which is that its size is too small, which leads to a small payload capacity of about 12 tons. Compared with the bombers of the United States and Russia, the range of the latter is often tens of thousands of kilometers, while the H-6K has a range of about 8800 kilometers. It was not until the latest H-6N that it had a range of over 10000 kilometers, and redesigning a strategic bomber can optimize both of these issues simultaneously.
The existence of this type of aircraft can extend the firepower delivery range of our country's air force, as it is large enough to carry multiple long-range cruise missiles to launch off defense strikes on important enemy targets. And it can also serve as the main air based nuclear power platform, launching nuclear strikes on the enemy's rear transportation hub and political and economic center, thus forming a "trinity" nuclear deterrence against the enemy together with land-based intercontinental missiles and strategic nuclear submarines.
If our army has already gained air superiority on the battlefield, even if we carry conventional bombs and carry out large-scale bombings like in World War II, the deterrence and destructive power of big guys rushing towards us in groups is quite terrifying, and it is possible to crush the remaining enemy's psychological defense line in one fell swoop.
As for strategic bombers with stealth capabilities, such as the B-2, they are able to go solo and use their excellent stealth capabilities to penetrate enemy air defense networks and execute important targets. And the deterrent significance of this strategic bomber seems to be greater than that of the B-52 and Tu-160, because it is difficult to capture its trace. Once discovered, it is the arrival of death, which is a huge threat for countries that do not have anti stealth capabilities.
The most important thing is that once China confirms the existence of the "red ghost", it means that there is no technological gap between China and the United States in this field, which will seriously impact the military hegemony of the United States. This is the biggest strategic significance of the H-20 at present.