China’s new supersonic arsenal could give H-6N bomber force greater reach, military experts say
- Air force source says supersonic cruise missiles first seen on National Day could allow PLA to hit targets 3,700 miles away
- Plane enthusiasts and military experts say H-6N strike planes are also modified to carry China’s latest spy drones
China’s new H-6N strategic bomber could carry CJ-100 supersonic cruise missiles or the WZ-8 supersonic stealth spy drone, increasing its maximum strike range to 6,000km (3,728 miles), military sources said.
The latest variant of the plane was designed to carry weaponry that was seen by the public for the first time at China’s National Day parade last month, a source close to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force said on Friday.
“The semi-recessed area under the fuselage of the H-6N is designed to carry either the WZ-8 or the CJ-100,” said the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of defence matters.
The CJ-100 – also known as DF-100 – is the PLA’s third-generation ground-attack cruise missile. Its predecessor, the subsonic CJ-10, was carried by the H-6K variant of the bomber and had a range of more than 1,500km. As the CJ-100 is significantly larger than the CJ-10, some analysts expected its range to be as much as 2,000km.
When a flight of three H-6Ns passed over Beijing during rehearsals for the October 1 military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, military experts and aircraft enthusiasts reported two distinct new features: an aerial refuelling probe on the planes’ noses and a semi-recessed area on their bellies.
