CHINA'S NEXT STEALTH AIRCRAFT

摘要

In World War Ⅱ a fighter-bomber was a fighter that could bomb. They can all bomb now, so the term has fallen out of use-xcept in China, where it is used for strike aircraft with high flight performance but no serious air-to-air capability.That is a good clue to the nature of a forthcoming Chinese tactical bomber. Emergence of this type, a smaller companion to the Xian H-20 strategic bomber, has long been rumored but is only now discussed by the Pentagon— which variously calls it a medium-ranee bomber, a tactical bomber and, tellingly, a fighter-bomber. The terminology, a few scant details and the likely choice of engines suggest the aircraft will be similar conceptually to the retired U.S. F-111, but maybe a lot bigger and perhaps presenting a serious threat to air targets.