Bigger Than the B-21: A First Look at China’s Massive Intercontinental Range Stealth Bomber

Satellite footage from a Chinese People’s Liberation Army test base near Malan, Xinjiang province, has provided a first look at a very large long range stealth aircraft, which appears to be an unmanned bomber intended for service in China’s Air Force. The large hangars housing one of the aircraft resemble those used by the U.S. Air Force to house the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/why-america-developed-this-massive-2-billion-stealth-bomber-b-2-spirit-built-for-nuclear-strikes-on-moscow" target="_blank">B-2 Spirit stealth bomber</a>, which is the closest operational foreign counterpart to the new Chinese aircraft. Like the B-2 and its <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-200-b21s-expansion-fleet" target="_blank">smaller successor the B-21</a>, the new Chinese aircraft is a flying wing design, which is the stealthiest class of aircraft in the world and retains a low radar cross section across a much wider spectrum of wavebands than stealth fighters like the F-35 or J-20. Such aircraft are designed not only to complicate targeting, but to evade all kinds of detection altogether. The aircraft’s size appears to fall between those of the B-2 and the B-21, with a wingspan of approximately 52 meters, compared to 52.4 meters for the B-2, and only around 40 meters for the much shorter ranged B-21.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/11/10/article_673003a07c57e3_12472381.png" title="CH-7 Unmanned Medium Range Bomber" >While little is known regarding the new Chinese aircraft, the lack of a visible cockpit has led to the conclusion that it is unmanned. A possibility remains, however, that it the low resolution of the satellite images may be masking this and other features. What is visible is that the aircraft’s wingtips appear&nbsp; clipped at an angle similar to those of the B-2 and B-21. Whether manned or unmanned, the aircraft’s range is likely to closely match or exceed that of the B-2, while far exceeding that of the B-21. It remains uncertain whether the new aircraft is the long awaited <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/chinese-h20-intercontinental-bomber" target="_blank">H-20 intercontinental range stealth bomber</a>, or whether it was developed under a parallel program to provide an unmanned counterpart. China has led the world in developing and fielding unmanned flying wing aircraft for combat roles, and in November 2024 unveiled the new <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-unmanned-bomber-15hour" target="_blank">CH-7 unmanned stealth bomber</a>, which although very large for an unmanned aircraft with a 26 meter wingspan, was still far smaller than intercontinental range aircraft. <img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/15/article_684ec40969f279_77256138.jpeg" title="U.S. Air Force B-2 Intercontinental Range Stealth Bombers">With the United States and Russia being the only two states to have operationalised intercontinental range bombers, China’s latest unmanned aircraft may well be the first to enter service in its fleet. The aircraft may introduce a new level of mutual vulnerability between China and the United States mainland by significantly diversifying options for strikes on American targets, complementing<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/chinese-hypersonic-around-world-jcs-vice-chair" target="_blank"> major advances being made </a>in the ICBM arsenal and the ballistic missile submarine fleet.&nbsp;The expansion of options to engage targets on the U.S. mainland is particularly critical at a time when the United States continues to increase military deployments to East Asia aimed primarily at placing Chinese targets in the firing line, including from 2024 placing the first ground-based cruise missile launchers in the Philippines. The B-21 bomber program is also intended primarily to allow operations from America’s string of bases across the Pacific, with China remaining the primary target. China’s lack of comparable opportunities to base its forces near the American mainland has thus made the ability to launch intercontinental range attacks from bases on its own territory critical.