China baffles world with mystery bomber

China's H-8 stealth bomber may be more advanced than the American B-2A and capable of delivering a 350-kiloton nuclear warhead to the continental United States, or it could be a mock-up of the A-12 "Flying Dorito."

(Credit: PLAAF)

Those are just two of the rumors accompanying a video trumpeting some recent triumphs of Chinese aviation.

Although it's "top secret," Chinese quasi-official Web sites brag that the Xian H-8 is a stealth carbon fiber, "special nanotechnology"-coated strategic heavy bomber.

What we know for sure is that it has a range of 11,000 kilometers, without refueling, but it could refuel if it wanted to--possibly. In any case, it has extralarge fuel tanks. It has a crew of two and travels at Mach 1.2, or maybe 1.4. It carries an 18-ton bomb payload and/or 12 new stealth cruise missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers. And three nuclear missiles, at least.

A prototype was successfully tested last year (witnessed by the deputy mayor of Xian) and will enter mass production and active service in the People's Liberation Army Air Force by 2010.

Then again, it's an enlarged version of the H-6 with the underwing engines, a project that was canceled in the 1970s. It has four Ws-10A engines based on Russian or U.S. technology--or both--and was designed by the 603 Institute.

Oh, and it was made possible by stolen American technology. Even with pilfered stealth technology, though, China will probably not have had "enough time to (successfully) fabricate and assemble a working aircraft," Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense hopes.

And the "Flying Dorito"? The stealth McDonnell Douglas A-12 carrier-borne attack aircraft was canceled in the 1990s by then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. Or was it?

[contentcreator--2008]

The first half of the flying wing looks like a so-so job by a visual effects student. Should we play the "where's waldo" game to find the tells? Shadow direction, shadow sharpness, black level, white level, color balance, noise level, focus? No wonder we see a compressed version on youtube, not actual JPEG photos where the construction would be even more obvious.

[snaniwsp]

an obvious photo shop job...CNET got suckered. The Chinese can't even build their own jet engines without help.

[tomanjeri]

Of course it's a mockup you tool. No gov't is going to release photos of a secret military plane.

[ciggieoxo]

The US has so many loans owed to China and China has invested in US companies plus we are a huge consumert of Chinese imports, China wouldn't use its weapons against the US because we have been bought out by China. They have to protect their assets,

[carlosmante]

Now all this technology should American Heroe Hugo Chavez.
All weel deserved after all junk dumping of Chinese trash By Gringo Companies to American Countries like Mexico.

[boriquajake]

Mira, cabrón, a menos que vayas a aprender el inglés, no intentes escribir tus pendejadas, OK.

Y mas, los unicos "Americanos" somos los gringos, puto. Si, vives en un continente "americano" pero el unico pueblo conocido como "America" es el de los Estados Unidos de America, cabrón.

[chupamiverdga]

Who are you kidding? This stuff appears to have been lifted from a grocery store tabloid! The bomber "pictures" are obvious fakes, and the "author" named no resources from which he did his "research".
What's he going to write about next, an amazing new diet plan derived from space alien technology?

[nedcoyle]

First thing I thought of upon seeing the slides of the "stealth" - Photoshop. Probably a bootleg copy purchased on the streets of Shanghai or Hong Kong.

[42istheanswer]

Bring it on.

[xItOut]

Ha .. this guy must use the same intelligence as the Bush admistration.

[mrquique]

That?s why other countries always take us by surprise. It?s the dollar the strongest currency? We Americans are so egocentric for our own good. So much that we don?t see how the world changes around us. You will only believe it when you see it flying.

[arlandean]

I concur...strongly

[mikalg]

I cannot believe how fake looking these images are of the "stealth bomber". Does the Chinese public actual believe everything the state pumps out on its government media?

Jesus, I've seen UFO pictures that looked better than this...Big Foot too!

[parliament_fuck]

That "Chinese quasi-official Web site" is not a PRC site at all. It's the Ministry of Defense for Taiwan. Get a clue.

[williamQ]

Mark Rutherford quote: "A prototype was successfully tested last year (witnessed by the deputy mayor of Xian)..."

Ahh, so *that's* how we legitimize this laughable Photoshop hack.

Mr. Rutherford: The prinicpal has been notified -- it's time for you to return to study hall!

[arlandean]

"...not have had 'enough time to successful fabricate and assemble a working aircraft,'..."

Dangerous thinking: based on other comments here and the apparent general military perception that the Chinese stealth aircraft isn't ready for prime time is dangerous. Regardless of whether the bomber is ready now or not, the day will come when it will be.

And true to form there will be many in the West who'll be convinced that China couldn't possibly be a serious threat. We seem to have a terrible habit of underestimating emerging threats and potential enemies.

Well then, let's all just wait until it's too late. Meanwhile we can congratulate ourselves on having the most technologically advanced military machine on the planet connected to the blindest and wrong-headed way of perceiving (or mis-perceiving) too much of the rest of the world.

In other news, Airbus gears up to build US Air Force Tankers...so what...right?

[drsanto]

I couldn't agree more.

There are a LOT of other nations and even para-military forces that take war and war strategy more seriously than we do. Take Lezbollah, for example. Lezboallah was monitoring Israeli communications, for heaven's sake! In many ways, the war between the two was a proxy war between the US and Iran.

Increasingly, the United States is under Cyber attack by the PLA's Cyber Warfare forces. The amount of activity is greater than low-intensity conflict and is reaching the level of force-on-force conflict. If the PLA compromises enough computers (and it probably has), it can gleam information that allows it to move ahead from a technological perspective. Not only do we have to protect our systems, but we need to ensure that we identify and incapacitate attacking computers.

Finally, we're exporting our manufacturing to Asia. As a result, the Asians are getting and learning the technology before we do. It has gotten to the point where they are researching and developing technology locally. This is NOT GOOD for the US, which overly depends on technology for it's military edge.

Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Moorer warned us about China...

DRS

[lkrupp]

I thought April 1 was a couple of weeks away yet.

[wildchild_plasma_gyro]

Its got to be said.
China dosent have to put its hands up and say ok we wont be a nuclear nation.
China dosent have to dampen its taoist ways to please the west.
And China dosent have to facisise its world into unbalanced class structure claiming false freedom.
This sort of thing will encourage Japan to want more of their worth that this self proclaimed kind western world has held back from them.
So they might ruturn to their philosophies and steghen their nuclear potential and become a full scale alli of China s opposed to a free mason run shell of their former ways just to get some economy their way.

India might transform wanting a less westernised way and want more for their world.

This stuff is significan't to the rise of Asia.
I don't support this stuff out of hate i sulute this stuff out of want for fairness here on earth and a shire hate towards the ambiguius levels of decent in my own place of residence.

[wildchild_plasma_gyro]

Personally id case it in a water melting carbonised coat protectect by a polymer nano layers.
Well hey theres plently more time to improve the crafts electro stelfyness.

[Chiatzu]

lol @ bootlegged photoshop job. Probably so. Looks completely fake to me too. Amateurs.

[sszx223]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/22/stealth.bomber.crash/

They are laughing at us. While our planes are crashing China is developing out the ass. Just wait yall.. just wait.

[Kilotango7]

I think someone took the footage from the next ace combat... I mean seriously. Nanotechnology in the skin of an aircraft? Carbon fiber is a material not commonly seen in aircraft either. Unless you plan on making a little Berkut 360 or something. Dont get me wrong, China is on the rise. But they arent there yet. Their airforce is still highly reliant on soviet/russian technology and what they can manage to steal from the US. Its true, the Chinese have decent computer making skills but they couldnt assemble a engine to save their lives. Why do you think they are using rolls royce engines in the H-6?

You want air superiority? Check these bad beasts out> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-35_Lightning_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F22

[cywarone]

This is terrible reporting. You have no real sources for this. This is pure propaganda. Try to do some real reporting, I trust CNET and this is not up to your standards.