During a meeting of the Chinese military officials it was discussed that China needs a new long-range bomber which should be capable of striking targets as far as the “second island chain” – an area extending from the Kurils in the North through Japan, the Bonins, the Marianas, the Carolines and Indonesia in the South, according to the China Daily article
Furthermore, as written in the Chinese Military Aviation blog, the new long-range strategic bomber designs have been under development at the 603rd Aircraft Design Institute (a partner of Xi’an Aircraft Industrial Corporation) since the 1990s.
The new bomber will allegedly have a flying wing design similar to that of the American B-2 and is referred to as a ‘strategic project’ by the Chinese military. Allegedly the separate parts of the aircraft are already being manufactured.
China’s May 2015 Defense White Paper emphasized that “[t]he PLAAF will boost its capabilities for strategic early warning, air strike, air and missile defense, information countermeasures, airborne operations, strategic projection and comprehensive support.”
