Hong-6 Bomber

• H-6 Bomber Inventory
• H-6 Tanker

The H-6 (Hongzha-6 or Hong-6) is the Chinese copy of the Russian Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO codename: Badger) medium-range bomber. For more than three decades, the bomber has remained the backbone of the PLA’s long-range strike fleet. Today, the PRC is the only country in the world that still deploys the Tu-16/H-6 in operational service, serving in a wide range of roles from nuclear and tactical bomber, to naval missile bomber, tanker, reconnaissance/electronic warfare, engine testbed, and cruise missile platform. The service life of this 40-year-old design in the PLA is expected to continue beyond the year 2015.

The PRC obtained the Tu-16 blueprint from the Soviet Union in 1959 and the Chinese-assembled Tu-16 using Soviet-supplied kits made its first flight in 1959. However, the indigenised version designated H-6A using Chinese-made engines and parts did not fly until 1968 due to the Sino-Soviet split. The H-6A bomber entered the PLAAF service in 1969 and has been used for both strategic and tactical roles. The aircraft was also exported to Iraq and Egypt but it is no longer operational in these countries. The production of the H-6 continued at low pace through out the 1980s and 1990s, with new variants being introduced after 2000.

Like the Tu-16, the H-6 was originally designed to carry high-drag, free-fall general-purpose bombs inside its internal weapon bay to perform WWII-style level bombing missions. In order to perform such a mission, the bomber must be able to penetrate the enemy air defence composed of fighter aircraft and surface-to-air missiles. With its obsolete aerodynamic design and lacklustre performance, the H-6 would have a very low survivability in such an operation. Later variants of the H-6, however, are equipped with precision-guided, standoff weapon (SOW), which can be launched tens or even hundreds of kilometres away and find its target with the assistance of various guidance systems, while the carrier aircraft can leave the theatre shortly after the launch to avoid enemy air defence firepower.

Nuclear Weapon Bomber Project

Chinese-assembled Tu-16 bomber '50671' that dropped China's first hydrogen bomb (Chinese Internet)

In June 1963, Xi’an Aircraft Factory was ordered to convert one of the first two Tu-16 bombers assembled using Soviet-supplied kits into a nuclear weapon carrier under a highly secret programme codenamed “21-511”. The bomber (PLAAF serial 50671) was fitted with an air-conditioned weapon bay and special bomb mountings to carry a nuclear bomb. The conversation was completed in 1964. On 14 May 1965, this bomber flown by PLAAF officer LI Yuanyi and his crew drooped a 25kT yield enhanced atomic bomb with thermal nuclear material (lithium 6) at Lop Nor nuclear test site. On 17 June 1967, the same bomber flown by XU Kejiang dropped China’s first thermal nuclear bomb with a yield of 3,000kT. The formal production variant H-6A was designed for both nuclear and conventional strike missions, though some reports suggested that the PLAAF no longer operated any H-6 for the nuclear strike role after the mid-1990s.

H-6A/AII

The H-6A was based on the basic variant H-6/Tu-16, but with features borrowed from Tu-16A, which served as a strategic bomber in the Soviet Air Force. The H-6A was configured for both strategic nuclear strikes and conventional tactical missions. The batch production began in 1971 and reached its peak rate of 30 examples per year in the late 1970s. By 1986, a total of 140 examples had been delivered to the PLAAF.

The aircraft has mid-mounted, swept-back wings with blunt tips, fences on top of the wings, and landing gear pods extend beyond the wings trailing edges. Two XAE WP-8 turbofans are mounted in wing roots which extend beyond the leading and trailing edges of the wing root. The engines have a pair of round air intakes. The fuselage is long, slender, and bulging where the engines are mounted and tapered to the tail. The aircraft has a round, glassed-in nose and a stepped cockpit. The tail is swept-back, tapered fin and flats with blunt tips and a tail gunner compartment.

The bomber has seven 23mm cannons: a single-barrel Type 23-2 cannon is mounted on the starboard side of the glass-in nose compartment with 200 rounds; three twin-barrel Type 23-2H cannons are mounted in defensive turrets located on the back and belly of the fuselage and tail. These cannons are remotely controlled by optical sight/fire-control radar. The internal fuselage weapon bay can carry up to 9,000kg payloads including 250~3,000kg class high-drag general-purpose bombs or a single nuclear bomb.

H-6A bomber of the PLAAF 10th Air Division (Chinese Internet)

The H-6AII is the improved variant of the H-6A fitted with an automatic bombing/navigation system. The aircraft development began in 1970 and the first flight took place in 1975. The design certificate was issued in 1981. From the 12th batch of the H-6A in 1982, the aircraft was built in the H-6AII standard. Existing H-6A bombers in PLA service were also upgraded to the H-6AII standard.

Improvements on the H-6AII include:

• Improved variant WS-8 turbojet engines with enhanced performance
• LHS-2 bombing/navigation computer
• DPL-1 (Type 773) Doppler navigation radar
• HL-3 air data navigator
• KJ-3C autopilot
• HZX-1 horizon gyro
• WL-7 radio compass
• BDP-4 altitude indicator
• HL-2A (Type 244) bombing radar replacing the original HL-2 (Type 241)
• HM-3 optical bombing sight replacing the original HM-1
• WD-3 IFF
• WJ-2A rear warning receiver
• Type 211 fire-control radar for the tail cannon
• Redesigned low-drag wingtips which help increase the maximum range by 350km

H-6I

In the 1970s, Xi’an Aircraft Factory (now Xi’an Aircraft Industry Corporation, XAC) proposed a four-engine H-6 upgrade package known as H-6I. The new design retained the airframe of the H-6, but replaced the two original WP-8 turbojet engines at the wing-root position with two Rolls-Royce Spey Mk512-5W turbofans, and also added an additional two Spey turbofans under the wings. The introduction of the new powerplant has increased the maximum range of the H-6 bomber from 5,760km to 8,060km, and sea-level climbing rate from 18.6m/s to 29.7m/s. An H-6I converted from an existing H-6 for test and evaluation made its maiden flight in 1978. However, the programme was finally cancelled in the early 1980s due to excessive costs involved in purchasing and maintaining the Spey engines.

H-6B Reconnaissance Aircraft

The H-6B was developed from the basic variant H-6A for reconnaissance roles. The aircraft is fitted with a HD-42 Infrared camera as well as optical cameras. The aircraft was design certified in 1979.

H-6C Bomber

This was the improved variant that entered development in 1977. the aircraft first flew in 1980 and entered PLAAF service in 1983. This variant was fitted with an electronic warfare suites that consists of electronic countermeasures (ECM) jammer, electronic intelligence (ELINT), radar warning receiver (RWR) and chaff/flare dispenser.

H-6 Target Drone Carrier

The H-6 target drone carrier was developed from the basic variant H-6, with a pair of under-wing pylons to carry two Ba-6 supersonic target drones (developed from the HQ-2 SAM). The development of the aircraft began in March 1969 and the first flight took place in 1970. The aircraft entered service in 1971.

H-6 Electronic Warfare Variant

An electronic warfare variant of the H-6 was said to have been developed but this has never been confirmed.

H-6D

H-6D bomber carrying the YJ-6 anti-ship missile (Chinese Internet)

The H-6D was the first major upgraded variant of the H-6. It was also the first variant of the H-6 family in service with the PLA Navy. A naval variant of the H-6 was first proposed in the late 1960s, but the development did not begin until 1975. The State Council and the Central Military Commission officially approved the H-6 naval bomber project in October 1977, with the preliminary aerodynamic study was carried out between 1977~1980. The modification of the HY-2 ship-to-ship missile for air launch was finished in 1978. The modification of the H-6 airframe was completed in 1980. The fire-control and automated navigation system for the maritime strike mission was completed in 1981.

The first H-6 naval bomber prototype ‘01’ rolled out in June 1981 and made its first flight on 20 September 1981. The second prototype was completed and flew in 1983. Flight testing of the aircraft was carried out between 1981~1984. The aircraft was certified for design finalisation in 1985 and was officially designated H-6D. A total of nine examples were built in 1985~86, with five delivered to the PLA Navy and four sold to the Jordanian Air Force. An additional nine examples had been delivered to the PLA Navy by 1990.

Improvements and modifications on the H-6D include:

• A pair of under-wing pylons for missile carrying
• Removing the front 23mm cannon and nuclear weapon mounting in the weapon bay
• ZJ-6 fire-control system (for the YJ-61 anti-ship missile)
• Type 773 Doppler navigation radar and automated inertial navigation system (INS)
• Environment control system for missile heating and radar cooling
• An enlarged under-chin radome to house the HL-6D (Type 245) target acquisition/illumination radar
• HM-3A optical bombing sight
• Larger engine intake
• Redesigned airframe structure and internal fuel tanks

The aircraft carries two YJ-6 (export name: C-601) liquid-propellant, semi-active radar-homing anti-ship missiles on the under-wing pylons. Derived from the HY-2 ship-/land-based anti-ship missile, the YJ-6 is fitted with a 380kg semi-armour-piercing high-explosive (HE) warhead, and can attack surface target 120km away at a speed of 0.9 Mach. The bomber’s internal weapon bay was retained for conventional level bombing missions. The H-6D has now been replaced by the improved H-6M.

H-6E/F

A PLAAF H-6E bomber in the light grey colour scheme (Source: Chinese Internet)

Following the PRC’s failed attempt to acquire the Tu-22M Backfire medium-range bomber from Russia in the early 1990s, the PLAAF was forced to continue upgrading the existing H-6 design to fulfil its long-range strike capability requirements in the early 21st century. The H-6 production line at XAC was reopened to build the new improved H-6E and H-6F variants. These new bombers replaced the older H-6A built in the 1970s and 1980s to perform tactical strike missions.

The difference between the E and F variants is minor. The most noticeable feature is the removal of the nose cannon. Both variants are believed to be fitted with an automated navigation system which uses three navigation methods: inertial, GPS, and Doppler navigation radar. The original manually operated optical bombing sight was also replaced by an automatic fire-control system. These improvements enable the bomber to fly in all-weather, day/night conditions without having to rely on visual reference on the ground for navigation. Such a capability is particularly useful for operations in the maritime environment.

Despite the improvements in the long-range flight capability, the H-6E/F can only carry free-fall bombs for conventional level bombing missions. These bombers are not capable of penetrating modern land-based air defence. Instead they are intended for long-range offensive counter-maritime operations against surface ships or isolated small islands far away from the coast, where the air defence firepower faced by the bomber is likely to be weaker. Such a capability is particularly useful in a possible conflict in the South China Sea or the Taiwan Strait.

H-6H

PLAAF ground crew pushing a YJ-63 air-to-surface missile (Source: Chinese Internet)

The H-6H is the air-to-surface missile launch platform developed in the late 1990s to meet the PLAAF requirements for a long-range strike capability in the early 21st century. Development of the H-6H began in January 1995 and the first prototype rolled out in April 1998, followed by a second prototype in July the same year. The first flight of the aircraft took place on 2 December 1998. The two prototypes have their onboard missile fire-control systems installed and tested in November 1999 and the initial flight testing was completed in April 2000. Two missile firing tests were carried out in November 2002, with both missiles hitting their targets.

The H-6H carries two KD-63 (KongDi-63) air-launched land-attack cruise missiles (LACM) under its wings. The missile appears to be developed from the YJ-6 air-launched anti-ship missile, but with an X-shape tail. Its turbojet may be based on that of the HY-4 land-based anti-ship cruise missile. The KD-63 reportedly uses inertial/GPS mid-course with a TV terminal guidance seeker, carrying a 500kg warhead to a 150~200km range at a speed of Mach 0.9.

The H-6H has all of the 23mm cannon turrets removed. The bomber features an enlarged under-chin radome similar to that of the H-6D to accommodate the fire-control radar. It also has a distinctive black-colour radome located under the rear fuselage, possibly for command link between the missile and the bomber.

H-6M

PLA Naval Aviation H-6M bomber (Source: Chinese Internet)

During the 2002 Zhuhai Air Show, AIVC I (the parent company of XAC) broadcasted a video which briefly showed a new H-6 featuring four under-wing pylons in flight testing. Later it turned out to be a new naval variant H-6 designated H-6M. The new bomber was spotted in operational service with the PLA Naval Aviation Corps since 2005, possibly as a successor to the older H-6D introduced in the early 1980s.

Little detail on this new variant is available at this stage. Judging from the photos speculated on the Chinese Internet, the bomber has all of its original 23mm cannons removed. Four large pylons are fitted under the wings to carry four YJ-81 anti-ship missiles. If necessary, the bomber may also be able to carry the KD-88 land-attack cruise missile (LACM) for precision strike role.

H-6K

An Internet-source photo showing the H-6K prototype '001', with an export name BC-1 painted on its vertical tail (Chinese Internet)

The H-6K is the latest member of the H-6 bomber family first flying on 5 January 2007. This variant features some radical modifications, including six under-wing pylons to carry an unknown model air-launched land-attack cruise missile; two Russian-made D-30KP turbofan engines; a solid nose replacing the original framed glass-in nose; and a completely refurnished ‘glass’ cockpit featuring six large multifunctional displays (MFD). XAC hopes that these modifications would significantly improve the performance of the 40-year-old design, thus extending its service life well into the next decade.

Some Internet sources citing XAC internal reports claimed that the development of this new H-6 variant may begin in 2000 or even earlier. A blurry photo of the bomber taken shortly after its maiden flight has been speculating on Internet since late January. Despite its poor quality, the three mock-up cruise missiles carried under the right-wing of the aircraft and slightly larger engine intakes are clearly visible. A second Internet source photo, possibly a scan of an XAC or AVIC 1 newspaper, shows XAC engineers working in a modern airliner-style ‘glass’ cockpit with the unique H-6-style control yokes. A third Internet source photo shows an accurate model of the new H-6K bomber, possibly used by XAC for internal presentations.

An Internet-source photo showing what appeared to be the roll-out ceremony of the H-6K at XAC (Source: cjdby.net)

The new H-6K bomber is reportedly powered by two Russian Aviadvigatel D-30KP turbofan engines, the same engine used by the Russian Il-76MD transport aircraft. The turbofan engine offers far greater thrust and better fuel efficiency compared to the ageing WP-8 turbojet engine used by previous variants of the H-6. These engines would provide the new H-6K with increased weapon payload and extended range. The internet source photo of the H-6K shows a slightly larger air intake, possibly to fit the requirements of the D-30KP engines. However, if this report is true, the future of the programme would completely depend on whether Russia is willing to supply the D-30KP engine since the Chinese aviation industry has yet been able to produce an engine of this class.

Internet source reported that the H-6K project was wholly funded by XAC without the PLA’s support. The situation with the Russian-made engines may cause some concern since traditionally the PLA does not like the idea of relying on foreign sources to provide key components for an indigenously developed weapon system. It is still too early to tell whether the PLA would finally adopt this design.

H-6 LV / Space Plane Carrier

H-6A bomber '40672' of the PLAAF 36th Air Division carrying an unmanned space plane taxing on the runway (Source: cjdby.net)

In 2000, China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation (CASIC) began the preliminary study on an air-launched, all-solid-propellant, three-stage space launch vehicle (SLV) that can place a 50kg payload into earth orbits. During the 2006 Zhuhai Air Show, CASIC revealed a mock-up of its air-launched SLV, with a diagram showing the 13t SLV being launched from a H-6 platform at an altitude of 10,000m.

An Internet-source photo released in December 2007 revealed that the H-6A ‘40672’ of the PLAAF 36th Air Division was involved in the test of a rocket-powered small unmanned space plane known as “ShenLong” (Divine Dragon). The project may be a part of the preliminary study for a future reusable unmanned or manned space shuttle or trans-atmospheric vehicle.

Last update: 21 April 2008