Xian H-6K

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The Xian H-6 is a licence-built version of the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 twin-engine jet bomber, built for China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

Delivery of the Tu-16 to China began in 1958, and a licence production agreement with the USSR was signed in the late 1950s. Xi’an Aircraft Industrial Corporation (XAC) manufactured aircraft at Xi’an as the H-6; the first flew in 1959. By November 2020, the PLAAF had as many as 231.

The H-6K is designed for long-range attacks and stand-off attacks. It is capable of attacking US carrier battle groups and priority targets in Asia. This aircraft has nuclear strike capability. While previous models had limited missile capacity, the H-6K can carry up to six YJ-12 and 6-7 ALCMs; a single regiment of 18 H-6Ks fully loaded out with YJ-12s can saturate enemy ships with over 100 supersonic missiles.