Though it has not received media attention equal to its fighter counterparts, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) bomber fleet is steadily being modernized, and plans call for a next generation stealthy, multi-role bomber.

The Xian Aircraft Corporation (XAC) H-6K bomber proved its capabilities during the Aviadarts 2017 competition held earlier this month in China, edging out the Russian Tu-22M3/M3M Backfire in the bomber category. Chinese analysts credit the win to newer navigation systems and targeting radar, as well as rigorous aircrew training.

The PLAAF has also reportedly introduced a new imaging infrared (IIR) or optical seeker variant of the K/AKD-20/CJ-20 “Long Sword” cruise missile, which is the primary air-launched cruise missile of the H-6K. The CJ-20 is guided by an integrated GPS/inertial navigation system and terrain contour matching (TERCOM). The new seekers will ensure a higher survivability against electronic countermeasures and greater target accuracy at the terminal stage.

Enhancements to the H-6K continue; in late August, an amateur photo of a “green” H-6 with in-flight refueling probe surfaced on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. This could be the alleged H-6N that reportedly flew for the first time in December. Many believe the H-6N could host the air-launched DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile. The reworked airframe could have been modified and strengthened to accommodate the 11-meter missile and better shielded against radiation.

Analyst Wei Dongxu thinks inflight refueling capability will enable the PLAAF’s bombers to operate beyond the “First Island Chain” to the “Second Island Chain” with greater payload. The PLAAF has increased the number of H-6K flights into Japan’s and Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zones, in some cases with a composite force of Y-8 transport aircraft, Su-30 fighters and KJ-2000 airborne early warning aircraft.

XAC has also developed the H-6KH, an enhanced variant of the H-6K, which features two additional wing pylons for KG600/800 jamming pods. Satellite imagery of the XAC airfield in Yanliang, China, shows an H-6KH with unidentified pods on the new outerwing pylons. A model of the H-6KH also suggests the presence of a KD-63 series targeting and datalink pod mounted on the aft of bomb bay.

A small-scale test model of China’s next generation bomber, a flying wing unofficially dubbed the H-20, has been spotted by satellite at Gaobeidian, a radar cross-section test range near Beijing. China state media CCTV estimates the H-20 will have stealth features, a maximum takeoff weight of at least 200 tons and payload capacity of up to 45 tons.

The H-20 resembles the U.S. Air Force’s B-2 Spirit bomber and the Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator. However, military analyst Wang Mingliang told CCTV that the H-20 cannot be compared with the B-2 as it will perform missions beyond strategic bombing, such as electronic warfare.