In terms of range and bomb load, China's only bomber H6K, where is it located in the world
In the modern weapon and equipment system , if aircraft carrier is the representative of the navy, then the representative of the air force is undoubtedly a bomber. Aircraft carriers can carry carrier-based fighter to any sea area around the world under the escort of other combat ships. They have extremely strong strategic deterrence capabilities. The combat capabilities of an aircraft carrier formation even exceeds those of the vast majority of small and medium-sized countries in the world. For this reason, aircraft carriers are also considered to be the core of the US Navy and the core force in maintaining the US maritime overlordship.
U.S. Strategic Air Force
and strategic bomber is the core part of the US Air Force's strategic deterrence. It also has global strategic strike and deterrence capabilities. It relies on the ultra-long range of strategic bombers, super-strong bombs and penetration capabilities. It can carry bombs , precision guided bombs , cruise missile , cluster bombs , anti-ship missiles and nuclear bombs and other weapons and equipment to strike important enemy military targets, and has extremely strong strategic deterrence capabilities. Among all the countries in the world today, there are only three countries that are equipped and deploy large numbers of bombers, namely China, the United States and Russia.
。Image 160。White Swan" strategic bomber
。The US Strategic Air Force consists of three aircraft, namely B52H " stratosphere fortress ", B1B "Lantern" and B2 "Ghost". Russia consists of three strategic bombers, namely, 95 "Bear", 160 "White Swan" and 22M "Counterfire". Although my country is one of the three strategic bombers in the world, its bomb load capacity, deterrence ability, range, and penetration ability are far less than those of the United States and Russia. Its model is only the H-6 series bomber. Although the bomber has many front and rear improved models and has greatly improved its performance, it is subject to design limitations.
Figure 95 "Bear" strategic bomber
Now that the potential is exhausted, it still only belongs to the category of long-range bombers and is far from the level of strategic bombers. Taking the H-6K as an example, the maximum range of the H-6K is only 8,000 kilometers, the strike radius is more than 3,000 kilometers, and the maximum load capacity is only 12 tons. Even the load capacity of the Su-30 and Su-35 fighter can reach this level, but the H-6K has an absolute advantage in range. Therefore, the H-6K bomber does not perform strategic strike tasks. It mainly undertakes China's national defense and air defense operations, and at the same time strengthens its anti-ship capabilities. At present, the main tasks of the H-6K bomber are anti-ship and ground attacks, especially anti-ship performance. Relying on a large range and bomb load, it can carry 4 Eagle Strike 12 heavy anti-ship missiles out of the sea to cruise.
H6K mounted Eagle Strike 12
Eagle Strike 12 anti-ship missile is an independently developed by my country's supersonic anti-ship missile . It is mainly used to strike large and medium-sized targets at sea, such as destroyer , cruiser , amphibious assault ship , and even aircraft carriers. It is about 9 meters long, has an ammunition diameter of about 1.2 meters, a weight of 2-2.5 tons, a maximum range of 300 kilometers, and a maximum flight speed of Mach 4 at the end. It adopts composite guidance and has 800 kilograms of ultra-high explosives. It is regarded by the United States as one of the biggest threats to combat ships. It not only has fast flight speed, extremely high anti-jamming ability and hitting accuracy, but also has the ability to sweep sea strikes. It is difficult to intercept with the existing air defense missile system. In addition, the H-6K bomber can also carry Eagle Strike 83K anti-ship missiles, KD63 air-to-ground missiles, KD88 air-to-ground missiles, KD20 cruise missiles, as well as other precisely guided bombs and aviation bombs, etc., and the strikes are very diverse.
H6K weapon configuration
In addition, my country's H6 family is very large, and the current models cover H6M, H6K, H6J and H6N, etc., with a total of more than 200 aircraft, exceeding the number of US and Russian bombers, and the total scale is the world's first.The super-large scale allows my country to deploy on a large scale. Even the United States lamented that whenever the US ship fleet appears in the direction of East China Sea or South China Sea , China's H-6 bombers will carry anti-ship missiles to sea on a large scale. CCTV has even released the flight scenes of 9 H-6K bombers in the same frame and flew to the Western Pacific to perform exercise and training missions. 9 H-6K can carry 36 Eagle Strike 12 anti-ship missiles at a time, which is enough to pose a threat to an aircraft carrier formation. It is not impossible for the H-6K to launch nearly 100 Eagle Strike 12 anti-ship missiles at a time.
H6K weapon configuration
Therefore, the H6 family has become an important part of China's air anti-ship combat forces. Relying on its own combat radius and the range of the missile , the deterrence radius of the H6K is more than 3,000 kilometers. If you carry the KD20 air-to-ground cruise missile, the strike radius is between 4,000-5,000 kilometers, which is enough to cover most of the U.S. military bases in the Asia-Pacific region. Cooperate with the Chinese Air Force's huge J10, J11, Su 30, Su 35, J16 and J20 fighter jets to escort, which is sufficient to meet China's combat needs for offshore defense.
China H-6K group
In addition, as the Eagle Strike 21 anti-ship ballistic missile begins to be equipped with the 0.55 10,000-ton destroyer, in the future, the H-6K/J bomber has the ability to carry this type of anti-ship ballistic missile , the deterrence radius will be further improved, the strike radius will be increased by at least 1,000 kilometers, and the ability to launch outside the defense zone and strike radius of the US aircraft carrier battle group. The bomber's battlefield survivability has been greatly improved, and the threat to large and medium-sized targets at sea will be further enhanced. But now with the continuous development and progress of China's aviation industry and the continuous development of the overall strength of the Chinese Air Force, the H-6K bomber can no longer meet the strategic needs of the Chinese Air Force in the future and can only meet the current defense operations needs.
H6K
In the future, if the Chinese Air Force wants to improve its strategic deterrence capabilities, it must develop a strategic bomber with larger tonnage, higher bomb load, longer range, stronger penetration defense capabilities and more deterrent power. It is the most popular H-20 strategic bomber in recent years. Once in service, it will be expected to change the situation of insufficient strategic deterrence in the Chinese Air Force, but we still don’t know when it will be able to test flight and serve.
So as far as the current H-6K is concerned, compared with the strategic bombers of the United States and Russia, how big is the difference in range and bomb load capacity?
① The United States' B52 "Stratigraphic Fortress" strategic bomber
B52 "Stratigraphic Fortress" strategic bomber was developed by Boeing in the United States from the 1940s to the 1950s and put into service in February 1955. It is used to replace the B-29 "Super Air Fortress" and the B50 bomber. It has a history of 67 years since its equipment. Eight models such as B-52A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H were suspended in 1962. But it is still an important part of the US Strategic Air Force, and dozens of B52Hs are still in service in the US Air Force. The bomber is equipped with 8 Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3/103 turbofan engines, with a maximum range of 16,232 kilometers, a maximum take-off weight of 220 tons, and a maximum load capacity of more than 30 tons.
B52 "Stratigraphic Fortress" strategic bomber
② American B1B "Lavender" strategic bomber
B1B "Lavender" strategic bomber was developed by the United States North American Airlines in the 1970s. The earliest B-1 prototype began to be manufactured in 1973, and the B1B model began to enter service in 1986. The bomber has the ability to fly at the supersonic speed, with a maximum flight speed of Mach 12,000 kilometers. It is equipped with 4 General Electric F101-GE-102 afterburner turbofan engines, with a maximum take-off weight of 216 tons, a maximum load of 34 tons of internal load of 36 tons, and an external capacity of 26.7 tons.
B1B "Lantern" bomber
③ American B2 "Ghost" strategic bomber
American B2 "Ghost" strategic bomber was developed by Northrop Grumman in the last century and flew for the first time on July 17, 1989, and put into service in April 1997. It is also the only stealth strategic bomber in service in the world today. The bomber is different from the conventional layout design of other bombers in that it adopts a flying wing layout design. In addition, it is also the most expensive strategic bomber in the world today. It has only built 21 aircraft in front and behind, and its single-machine cost is as high as US$2.4 billion (the cost at the beginning of this century). By weight, the unit price of B-2 is two to three times more expensive than the gold valued at the time of service. Its combat range can reach 12,000 kilometers, a maximum take-off weight of 170 tons, and a maximum bomb load of 23 tons.
B2 "Ghost" strategic bomber
④Russian Tupolev "Bear" strategic bomber
Tupolev "Bear" strategic bomber and the United States' B52 "Stratigraphic Fortress" strategic bomber belong to the same product of the same era. It was developed by the Soviet Tupolev Aircraft Design Bureau in 1951 and officially put into service in 1956. The biggest feature of the bomber is that it uses 4 NK-12 turboprop engines. The bomber has successively created records of the fastest propeller aircraft flying in the world and the largest propeller propeller transport aircraft. The propeller has a diameter of 5.6 meters, which is equivalent to the height of two floors, and the maximum flight speed is 910 kilometers per hour. The bomber has a maximum range of 15,000 kilometers, a maximum bomb load of 25 tons, and a maximum take-off weight of 188 tons.
博取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取取This bomber is the largest strategic bomber with the largest takeoff weight in the world today, and is also the fastest strategic bomber, and is also the core of the Russian Strategic Air Force. It is equipped with four Kuznetsov NK-32 afterburner turbofan engines with a maximum thrust of up to 25 tons, with a maximum flight speed of up to Mach 2.05, which is faster than the F35 "Lightning" stealth fighter. The maximum take-off weight is 275 tons, the maximum range is 16,000 kilometers (with a load capacity of 9 tons), and the maximum ammunition load capacity is 45 tons.
日本160 "White Swan" strategic bomber
⑥ Russia's map 22M "Counter Fire" bomber
日本22M "Counter Fire" bomber is a supersonic strategic bomber designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s by the Tupolev Design Bureau . Its predecessor was the "Eyeblock" bomber. The Tupolev bomber is an improved model and entered service in 1976. It can carry out strategic nuclear bombing, tactical bombing, and also perform anti-ship combat missions. The purpose of the design was to break through the US aircraft carrier battle group. Relying on its super high anti-ship missile carrying capacity and super high penetration speed, it was regarded as the " aircraft carrier killer " in that era. It is equipped with two NK-25 afterburner turbofan engines, with a maximum flight speed of about Mach 2. It can reach 12,000 kilometers without mounting a weapon, a practical range of 7,000 kilometers, and a maximum ammunition load of 24 tons.
Figure 22M "Counterfire" bomber
Conclusion:
From the above comparison, it is not difficult to see that the maximum range of the H-6K bomber of 8,000 kilometers, a maximum take-off weight of 75.8 tons and a maximum bomb load of 12 tons are far from the strategic bomber of the United States and Russia. Therefore, in the future, with the continuous development of China's aviation industry and the improvement of the overall strength of the air force, my country urgently needs a strategic bomber to change the situation of the strategic air force lagging behind.
Note: The above content only represents personal opinions, the data comes from the Internet, and is for reference only!
(A Periser on September 29, 2022, please do not reprint without authorization, plagiarism will be prosecuted!)
