China's latest stealth bomber, the Xian H-20, is "nowhere near" comparable to advanced US platforms and is "not really" a concern for Washington, according to a Pentagon intelligence official.

Speaking to the online Breaking Defence news portal, the official highlighted significant engineering challenges that have hindered the Chinese stealth programme's progress.

First unveiled in 2016, the H-20 has been touted as China's counterpart to the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit and the newly developed B-21 Raider.

According to the Pentagon's 2021 annual report to Congress, the H-20 is expected to have a considerable range of at least 8,500 km and a payload capacity of over 10 tonnes capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons.

“The thing with the H-20 is when you actually look at the system design, it’s probably nowhere near as good as US LO [low observable] platforms, particularly more advanced ones that we have coming down,” the official was quoted as saying in the report.

He pointed out ongoing "engineering design challenges" in achieving a level of stealth and functionality comparable to US bombers such as the B-2 or B-21.

“They’ve run into a lot of engineering design challenges, in terms of how do you actually make that system capability function in a similar way to, like, a B-2 or a B-21,” the official said.

Computer-generated designs and models circulated by Chinese defense contractors suggest that the H-20 features a flying wing design similar to its American counterparts, including a weapons bay, two adjustable tail wings, an airborne radar at the front, and dual stealth air intakes.

Wang Wei, deputy commander of the PLA Air Force, indicated at the "two sessions" political gathering in March that an official announcement regarding the H-20 would be made "soon."

Wang dismissed any technical difficulties or intentions for direct comparison with US models.

However, according to the Breaking Defence article, the defence intelligence official noted that China may choose to unveil the H-20 “just because they want to show that they’re a great military power”.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean it actually delivers them the kind of capability that they would need or at the quantity that they would need," the official added.

However, the official indicated that Washington is not dismissing the possibility that Beijing's military capabilities could prove highly effective in a potential conflict scenario.

According to the official, China is actively preparing all levels of society for a "protracted" conflict with the US.

The official emphasised that Beijing is purposefully equipping the People's Liberation Army (PLA), targeting US military weaknesses, and positioning itself as a significant "pacing challenge."

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Xian H-20

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