|
State-run media says China needs a long-range bomber
China needs to develop a long-range strategic bomber to strike adversaries farther away from its coast in the event of conflict, state media reported Tuesday, quoting defense experts.The meeting agreed that a long-range strategic bomber would enable the air force to attack farther out into the Pacific Ocean, the paper quoted Kanwa Defense Review as reporting, as far as the "second island chain." A capacity to strike the second island chain would hinder foreign militaries from intervening in "an emergency or conflict," the China Daily said, citing the report. In May, China's State Council, or cabinet, said in a white paper that the country would project its military power further beyond its sea borders and more assertively in the air. The Chinese military defines a long-range strategic bomber as one that can carry more than 10 tonnes of air-to-ground munitions and with a minimum range of 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) without refueling, the China Daily said. Chinese defense technology magazine Aerospace Knowledge said in a series of articles last month that China needs a long-range stealth bomber, China Daily said. "A medium-range bomber can't essentially fix the PLA air force's shortcomings in terms of strategic strike and strategic deterrence," it cited one of the reports as saying. "Thus the air force does need an intercontinental strategic bomber capable of penetrating an enemy's air defenses." But the China Daily quoted the publication's deputy editor-in-chief Wang Yanan as saying such an aircraft would require "a state-of-the-art structure and aerodynamic configuration as well as a high-performance turbofan engine." "All of these are major problems facing the Chinese aviation industry," he added. "I don't think these difficulties can be resolved within a short period of time." Posted by: Thraling Hupoluns2819 2015-07-08 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=422608 |